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lamentationsofalonelypotato · 29 days ago

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Chapter 13: Taking Out The Trash

Pairing: Soldier Boy x f!reader, Reader POV, Soldier Boy POV

Summary: When you decided to work with Butcher and his merry band of supe hunters to take down Homelander, you neve expected to be saddled with a sullen, grumpy, jerk like Soldier Boy when the job was done. The more you're around him the more you hate him, but you can't help but wonder, is he really as big a jerk as you think? Reader is a supe with plant powers. This takes place in an AU about a month after the end of The Boys Season 3, in which Butcher has let Soldier Boy continue to work with him on his team. (I'm real bad at summaries, please forgive me!)

Tropes: Enemies to Lovers (Not in this chapter), Slow Burn, Age Difference (Reader is in her 20s), Soft Ben/ Soldier Boy, Protective Ben/Soldier Boy

Word Count: 13.1K

Warnings: I'm going to label this 18+ because Soldier Boy (he's a warning and everyone knows it), Swearing, Mentions of Sex, Sexual Innuendo, Blood, GRAPHIC DEPICTION OF DEATH, DEATH, BLOOD, GUTS, Threatening, Denial, Attempted Manipulation, References to attempted SA in the past, Depressing Thoughts, INSANE REVELATIONS, CONFESSIONS, Talks about weed, Super Manipulative Creepy Trash Man, Sexist comments, Homophobic Comments? Ben/Soldier Boy might be a little bit OOC.

Note: This is told from Reader's perspective. Any references to the reader is made using you or your. There is minimal use of y/n. I tried my best to proofread, but nobody's perfect. If you don’t like, don’t read, but if you do like, you’re my favorite!

Internal monologue is in italics and is in first person.

A/N: I'm not going to lie, at the beginning of this chapter it's cute, but the rest of it gets... UNHINGED. I mean its dark because some things are revealed that I don't know why my mind went there immediately but... Also, apparently foreshadowing with dreams is my thing now 🤷🏻‍♀️?

Series Masterlist

Main Masterlist

"Are you sure that you're okay to start work today?" Jake asked you for the millionth time from across the large cherry wood table that proudly stood in the front window of the shop. "Because there's no shame in staying home and resting for a few more days."

He was holding a large box filled with golden barrel cactus that were about to be placed in the new window display that Jake and you were constructing. His dirty blonde hair was scruffier today, hanging into his face just over the top of his tortoise shell glasses. The red and navy flannel he wore stretched over his arms with the flexing of his muscles beneath as he watched you with interest, worry seeping into the clear blue of his eyes.

The store was as you remembered, almost blindingly green, with trailing vines that kissed your arms when you walked through the front door as if welcoming you home and the healing energy from the plants within fusing your body with newfound strength. You could feel the subtle push of roots in the earth, the unfurling of bright leaves, the swell of fruit on outstretched branches, and the gentle bend of each petal on the vegetation inside the shop speaking to you and reassuring you. It was welcome after being trapped in a freezer for four days.

Jake didn't know about any of that.

Annie had come up with a lie that you'd been in a car accident when Butcher loaned you his car for a job. It hurt you to lie to Jake, especially when he had brought all the plants to your hospital room because he knew it would make you feel better, but you were still trying to keep that part of your life separate from him. Honestly, you worried that if Jake found out how fucked up the other half of your life was he'd fire you, so you didn't bring it hurtling in through the front of his shop like a freight train. And you really loved working here.

It felt natural for you, tending to the plants, helping teach other people how to for anything that grew while gently showing the love of gardening and tending the earth.

Jake had been pondering the idea of having workshops on the weekend at the shop after hours and he'd finally said yes.

Hopefully, I'd be able to use both of my arms by then.

You were beyond discouraged that hadn't been able to do any of your crochet projects and you felt like a disappointment when you couldn't go to your bi-monthly crochet circle/class that you lead at the Assisted Living Facility a few blocks over. The woman on the phone from the facility had sounded so disappointed when you told her that you couldn't come and it only made you feel worse.

But it was nice to be back in the swing of things at the shop and wonderful to be back in a place that you felt at ease, but there was something tugging in your chest. It was an odd feeling, not as if you'd forgotten something, but almost as if you missed something. As if there was something that wasn't here that should be and you couldn’t put your finger on it.

A week had passed since you'd been released from the hospital and you were eager to get out from under Ben's house arrest to start working again even with your arm in a large and almost impossible cast to maneuver. You were calling it “house arrest”, because after your grandmother left, Ben refused to let you leave the apartment, stating that you needed to rest. And when you argued with him that you'd had enough rest, he'd planted himself in front of the door and refused to budge.

You were going stir crazy with nothing to do and you probably could have moved him if you really tried, but you didn't want to fight with Ben. Not when he was the person who'd brought you back from the warehouse and not when he was acting different.

Your lips press into a firm line when you think about the past week that you'd spent at home with him. Ben was going out of his way to do everything for you that he could, but that didn't mean you weren't annoyed. You'd had to practically swat him away with one of the wooden spoons in the kitchen when you were heating up a lasagna your grandmother left after he'd loudly complained that you shouldn't be standing for too long and tried to carry you back to the couch. Ben was acting like you couldn’t take care of yourself and hadn't been taking care of yourself since you moved away from home. It was odd.

And he kept doing little things around the apartment, like picking up his clothes and making sure to remember to put things in the dishwasher. Things that he hadn’t cared about before you got hurt and things that you’d yelled at him to do before everything happened. And he always made sure that the couch was clear incase you wanted to watch a movie or just read for a little while. Two things that you had been doing more often since you got out of the hospital.

But weirder still was that Ben hadn't been on one "date," since you got back. The only time he'd left the apartment was in the morning to get the paper and he always brought you back coffee or the pineapple iced tea you loved.

Yesterday he had finally allowed you to leave the apartment to go to the grocery store, because when you tried to give him a shopping list he'd said "I don’t need a fucking list I’m a man!" but then you’d asked him to repeat everything you'd told him to buy and he couldn’t.

The whole time out of the apartment you’d made plenty of jokes about the healing power of fresh air, while Ben countered by making a joke about the healing power of sex and that he'd be happy to make you feel better.

The trip to the grocery store hadn’t ended in bloodshed, even when you had to keep reminding Ben not to buy the name brand things and he'd ignored you or when Ben complained the whole time about how expensive everything was and how long it was taking you to find everything.

But the weirdest thing that happened was when the two of you were looking a produce there was a woman who kept trying to come on to Ben when you were testing the grapes and he completely ignored her. Surprising you because she looked like his type, and when she'd walked away Ben had dropped to his knees to tie your shoe because he noticed that it was loose.

When you'd teased him about it, he said that he "didn't want you to break your other arm when you tripped and ate shit on the concrete." You'd had no problem flipping him off with your unbroken hand.

But despite your insistences for Ben to try and find cheaper brands none of it mattered, because when you got to the register Ben paid for the groceries even when you’d explicitly discussed splitting the bill. The cashier had noted what a gentleman Ben was and you’d grumbled something impolite under your breath so low that only Ben could hear.

But Ben couldn't help you with everything, well, you didn't trust him to close his eyes when you needed help getting dressed or needed help washing your hair.

For those little things, Annie would come over, but she hadn't been sympathetic to your pleas to make Ben let you out of the apartment. In fact, when you hoped Ben wasn't listening she'd made a comment about exactly what you should be doing with a hot older man while being trapped in an apartment with only one bed. The raspberry vines that cling to the refrigerator had started spitting raspberries at her when she said it. And then Ben had looked over the back of the couch at the two of you and said "that's what I keep telling her."

At least when my grandmother was here she didn’t pry about Ben and me.

Your grandmother had stayed for three days following your return from the hospital, sleeping next to you on your queen sized bed before she went back to Illinois and everyday you were more surprised how much she and Ben knew each other. The easy way they spoke to one another, the jokes, the teasing, and the poker games that always ended in your grandmother winning an almost obscene amount of money from Ben all made your head spin. Especially, because whenever she won Ben would accuse her of "cheating," and she'd only roll her eyes and state that someone as old as Ben should be better at poker. But the way he'd said she was cheating was different, not as if she had cards up her sleeve, but if there was some other reason why she could cheat. It was confusing and a little frustrating, because you were terrible at poker.

You didn't understand how you could be that bad, but then Ben had poked the skin between your eyebrows that scrunched under his scrutiny and stated that you were "too easy to read" while your grandmother laughed at you.

She still wouldn’t answer your questions about how she knew Ben, but to you it appeared to be more than them running into each other a few times, it almost seemed like a friendship. You believed her when she said that they didn’t sleep together, but you didn't understand how they could have been friends. She'd never spoken about that part of her life with you before, just her childhood and when she met your grandfather. Needless to say it was like you were seeing a different person when she was around Ben.

Deep down you wondered if she was a supe, but she'd never said that before and you didn’t know why she would keep something like that from you, not when you were one too.

But when Ben noticed how discouraged you got playing poker, he let you look over his shoulder at his hand and watch him play. He was very much in his element and every few hands he would make a joke about playing strip poker to which your grandmother would reply "If you want to be naked that bad Ben, you might as well just go down to the corner and put it to good use."

When she left you were sad to see her go and even Ben seemed a little more moody than usual, almost as if he missed having her around. You missed her too. While she stayed with you, you hadn't had the nightmare, but the night she left you did. You'd woken up gasping for air, the unnatural flash of whitish blue light that raced towards the windshield from the dream vibrating against your skin. Ben had come in to check on you, without breaking down the door, and he'd sat with you until you calmed down enough to fall asleep.

But it was still unusual that Ben acted like he missed your grandmother. You'd never met any other friends that Ben had besides Legend and you wondered if Ben really was as lonely as you thought he was. In the past you'd ascribed that to the reason why he went out with so many women, but this time it only confused you because Ben hadn't been out with a single person all week. You couldn’t think of a reason why that was or what could have changed for Ben to avoid using Tinder. If anything you'd thought he would be bored sitting around the apartment with you, but he wasn't. He'd sit with you on the couch watching a movie or read the paper when you read your book, not talking about anything in particular.

There was only one subject you wanted to discuss.

The two of you hadn't talked about what almost happened on the couch when you slept together when Darren was visiting or the way Ben gently touched you in the hospital. You'd mentally compartmentalized it to being a fluke and were happy that things were going back to normal or at least normal-ish.

But sometimes your mind would wander to how Ben acted when you were in the hospital, how he'd cupped and held your face, how he'd touched you so reverently, what he'd said about not wanting to leave you with Elijah, and how angry he looked when he found out exactly what Elijah had tried to do.

But whenever you thought about talking to him about that, you’d only shake off the urge and ascribe it to Ben wanting to try and be friends. The exact thing that you'd suggested to him the night of the party.

He's respecting me. If he wants to be friends I can be friends with him. Even if he is acting weird.

In fact, this morning, he'd walked with you to the shop this morning as if it was a normal day.

*2 Hours Ago*

Ben frowns at you. "Maybe you should rest one more day-"

He'd been saying that the entire walk to the shop, but you weren't going to give him the satisfaction of letting him trap you in the apartment for another day.

“Ben it'll be fine. I've rested enough-" You rolled your eyes at him, confused that he was making such a big deal about this. It was both annoying and frustrating you how overprotective he was acting and it was making you mad.

“What about your arm? You can’t lift anything-“ He presses.

“Jake is here for that.” You gestured with your head to where Jake was hovering behind the two of you at the register counting the till while pretending not to listen.

"That makes me feel a hell of a lot better. You think that fucking twink can lift more than me?" Ben scoffs. “Maybe I should stay.”

"Why?"

"So I can lift things!"

“Stop babying me Gramps!"

“I'm not babying you!" He rolls his eyes at the nickname.

“Yes you are! Why are you acting like a helicopter parent? I'm fine. It's been a week and I am completely and utterly-"

Ben's hand comes up and pushes back a strand of hair behind your ear, his thumb lingering for just a second too long against your cheek. The motion makes you freeze, the warmth of his skin like a siren call. "I don't think you need to come back to work so soon." He says quietly, eyes flicking up to where Jake is before he lowers his voice even more. “You were kidnapped and you got hurt. Not to mention that asshole tried to-" Ben's gaze loses any of the softness it held as he remembers what you told him about what Elijah did.

"Ben." You whisper raising your hand to gently touch his wrist. "I promise I'm okay. I'm not doing this to prove anything. I want to be here. I like being here."

"And you don't like being at home with me." Ben whispers it so low that you almost miss it. He withdrawals his hand from your cheek looking angry.

The memory of the day you walked in on Ben talking to Bean hovers over you:

"Why does she hate me so much?"

When you’d heard Ben ask Bean that it hurt you. You didn't want Ben to think that you hated him. He frustrated you and annoyed you, but you didn’t hate him.

Well, he hasn't been annoying me as much lately.

And if anything you were trying not to think about how much you liked being at home with Ben, how much you liked spending time with him. It was easier to try not to focus on that, not when Ben was acting like someone you could love.

Ben doesn't believe in love, not after everything that got fucked up with Countess. I don't think I could ever fall in love with someone like him either. Sure he's attractive, but he's so damn annoying.

"Look at me." You lay your hand on his arm to draw his gaze back to you. Ben almost looks a little embarrassed that you heard him say it and you watch his eyes flick over your head to where Jake is. You pull him through the plants to give the two of you some privacy. "I don't hate you. And I'm not doing this because I don't want to be at home with you." Your cheeks flush with the word 'home.'

Ben kept using it so casually, but to you it always meant something else. Home was the place where you went where no one judged you, where you went to be with the people who loved you unconditionally, and where you felt that you could be yourself with no judgement. Not to mention you believed that eventually your "home" would become a person. Or at least that was what you wanted to happen. Those prospects were looking pretty slim as of late and you were still on the fence about online dating.

Hughie and Annie met the old fashioned way so why should I have to go on an online site only to be rejected based on looks only?

You refocus on the conversation that you're having with Ben.

"I want things to go back to normal, before everything that happened with Darren and Elijah. And this is the only way that I know how." The mention of Elijah's name brings the memory of him on top of you to simmer beneath the surface. You were trying to forget, but every once in a while the memory would come creeping back in bringing the chill of the first frost in its wake to brush against your skin.

Ben's expression softens. "That quack at the hospital said you should rest."

"You mean the man who went to school for over four years to get a degree told me to rest?"

"Then he knows what the fuck he's talking about!"

"Ben-"

"Petals." He sighs the nickname in the soft way that makes a tingle travel down your spine. Ben had been saying it like that more often confusing you further. "You went through a lot and I'm trying to make sure that you’re okay.”

Why does he care about that?

“I am okay.” You whisper. “I’m sick of being on house arrest in the apartment. I can only watch so many of your old films before I go completely insane.”

“They’re not that bad.”

"Debatable."

Ben sighs again, but he seems to realize that you're not going to budge. You were just as stubborn as he was and you knew that he hated that about you. "Fine. I've got to do something today anyway."

"You got a date?"

You meant it as a joke, but for some reason you feel a twinge deep down that you weren't expecting.

"No." For a moment you think Ben almost looks offended by the suggestion. "Butcher's helping me with something."

"With what? You hate Butcher. And why would he want to do you a favor?"

"Because he wants to find the sick son of a bitch as much as I do!" Ben growls, the soft look in Ben's eyes goes dark as you realize who he's talking about.

You hadn't heard from Darren since everything with Elijah. Not that you expected to. Darren's things had vanished from your apartment and he was gone without a trace. Butcher had tried to track the phone Darren had, but it was out of service. You didn’t want to see him and you didn’t want to think about him, not after everything he'd put you through. It was like Darren to suddenly show up with an apology and say everything that you wanted him to. In the past you'd thought it was because he cared about you and didn't want to lose you, but it was becoming more and more apparent that Darren knew exactly what to say to get you to forgive him. He played you so easily that it broke your heart.

It was hard for you to acknowledge that and hard for you to believe that after all these years the relationship you had with your brother had been a lie, a well rehearsed play that Darren performed whenever he was in town.

And this time you weren't going to forgive him. Not when he'd given you to Elijah like a form of payment. Darren was done using you and you were ready to cut him out of your life.

At least, that was what you told yourself anyway. Sometimes when it was dark and you were all alone in your room you thought that maybe you should forgive him because he was your brother and you didn’t want to abandon him. You'd never admit that out loud, and certainly not in front of Ben, but you weren't sure if you were strong enough to turn Darren down if he reappeared.

"Oh." You look down at your shoes for a second while chewing on the inside of your cheek.

There's an awkward silence that passes through the two of you, charged with the same energy that hovered between you when you were back at the hospital. And you can’t help but think that Ben looks disappointed that he has to leave. You again wonder why he was being so overprotective, especially when he said that he didn't care about you.

That was another thing that you were starting to believe was a lie, Ben cared about you even if he didn't want to admit it, because someone who cared wouldn't do everything he had done for you over the past week.

"Petals?"

"Yes Gramps?" You look up at him mentally preparing for him to ask you again if you're okay, but he doesn't.

"Don’t get into any strange cars." Ben's lips tilt up into a smirk.

"Even if they say they have candy?"

Ben only shakes his head, but then he lingers for a second too long, as if he's waiting for something. "And try not to break anything else." He mutters and then he's gone.

Why is he acting so weird?

*Present Time*

"Because Ben said-" Jake says, snapping you out of the memory of Ben saying goodbye.

"When did you guys talk?" You look up at him from the table in shock.

"Well, I tried to come see you three days ago and he didn't let me in. He said you needed rest and that I should come back later." He explains, emptying another box of cacti.

"You came by?" You ask him confused. The cacti are in multicolored pots and you try your best to avoid the spines as you shift them over the table into position.

"Yeah. Ben said he'd tell you that I did."

"Huh."

Ben hadn't told you that Jake came by, hadn't mentioned it once and he'd had plenty of opportunities to tell you. The two of you were practically both living on the couch, because Ben was making you watch all of his old movies. You think that he was trying to impress you with his acting skills, but all it did was make you mock him endlessly for the cheesy lines and the ridiculous helmet they made him wear as a part of his supe suit. You had taken to repeating the lines from the movies at the most inopportune times to tease him and Ben had started teasing you with quotes from the romance novels that you liked.

Your cheeks flushed at the memory.

It had been embarrassing. You were reading on the couch quietly to yourself and were so absorbed in the scene that Ben had snuck up behind you to read over your shoulder. It hadn't helped that you were at a particular steamy part. He'd made a joke of wanting to re-enact whatever you wanted from the chapter and you'd stomped away to take a shower. It was getting harder to deny his requests to sleep with you, especially when Ben was acting different than he usually did and had been acting like a new person since you got back from the hospital.

"He didn't tell you?" Jake looks disappointed.

"Gramps is forgetful sometimes." You frown at the display between the two of you.

Why didn’t he tell me that Jake came by? Jake has been so sweet. He brought me all those plants and he was worried about me. Or at least… You bite the inside of your cheek remembering what Ben said about when Jake came to the hospital:

"He was fawning all over you like a fucking pussy, thought he was going to cry."

You hadn't thought about Jake at all, other than the occasional wave of guilt for leaving him without any help for a whole week. But it was weird that Ben hadn't told you that Jake stopped by, because when Mike brought you a bouquet of yellow roses Ben had let him in and stood with a cup of coffee in the kitchen smirking at you as Mike talked with you for thirty minutes about how nice the weather was outside. It made you want to strangle Ben, but as retaliation when Mike's mother came by later with a basket of wheat grass muffins and something that looked like green sludge you'd invited her in to talk with Ben. She'd sat on the couch in a bright pink mumu, rubbing his upper thigh and talking about her ex-husband while Ben glared at you every chance he got and you sipped a cup of blueberry tea and laughed quietly to yourself.

"Why do you call him that?" Jake asks while putting down a golden barrel and grabbing a fishhook cactus carefully to avoid the spikes.

"Because he acts like a grumpy old man." You snort to yourself thinking of how cute you thought it was when Ben acted all crochety and frustrated by modern day technology.

"He does." Jake laughs. "So…"

"So?"

"Are you guys together?"

"What?" You sputter looking up from the plants to Jake with wide eyes. "Why do you think that?"

"Well he's always around." Jake picks up the empty box and stacks it on top of another one. "And he always acts kind of…" Jake shrugs.

"Kind of what?"

"Jealous. He's always mad at me for some reason."

"That's just how he is. You gotta peel back the layers like an onion when it comes to him." The words are easy, but you can't help but be a little bit surprised. You were defending Ben. You’d never defended him before, made fun of him, apologized for him, but never defended him. "I mean he's-" You prick your thumb on one of the spikes. "Ow."

"Did it get'cha?" Jake snorts.

"Yeah must be losing my touch. Went soft on all my days off."

"You deserved those days off. You needed to rest-"

You roll your eyes. "Please don't say the r word again. Ben's been saying it for the past week."

"I'm serious." Jake picks up another golden barrel and arranges it on a higher platform on the display. "There's something going on between the two of you."

"You mean Ben driving me to the point of insanity?"

"No. I mean the guy is always watching you-"

"He likes to stare at my ass." You roll your eyes at Jake. "What else is new?"

His cheeks flush with your mention of Ben's interest in your body. "I don’t mean like that. He always looks at you when you're working."

Your straighten up from the floor with a fresh box of Christmas Cactus, arranging the long tendrils so that they are hanging down over the edge of the table. "What do you mean?"

"Sometimes I see him walk by later in the day when you're reading at the register."

What? When has Ben been walking by and why? Is he spying on me?

"What? When?"

Jake shrugs. "I don't know just sometimes. He never comes in. One time he walked by with two cups of coffee, but he just kept walking."

Probably for one of his dates.

"Ben isn't interested in me like that. We're just friends and roommates." When you say that your chest gets a little bit tighter. "Ben doesn't have relationships, he has flings. The guy is basically a walking Trojan ad."

Jake runs a hand through his shaggy dirty-blond hair, to push it out of his face and away from his glasses. "I don't know, you didn't see him when you were asleep in the hospital. The guy was practically daring anyone to get close, like he was trying to protect you from something."

His words make you chew the inside of your cheek remembering what your grandmother said about Ben yelling at the doctors and the nurses and make you think about how overprotective Ben seemed to be acting over the past few days.

Ben is just trying to be a better friend. He knows that I went through a lot.

Annie had also been acting overprotective as well. She kept bringing things by the apartment to make your life easier with the cast and she kept bringing by food. She'd also brought by a big bag of thrifted romance books that she had found at your favorite used bookstore Inky's Inspirations and the two of you had spent the better part of a day devouring them. She was making more time for you because you knew that she felt bad about you getting hurt, and Hughie came by too. Ben didn't share the same enthusiasm that Hughie had for conversation, but whenever Ben was mean you would glare at him and Ben would huff out something under his breath and try to contribute more to the conversation.

"That's just how he is. Ben is kinda," You wave a hand. "Protective of his friends."

"I noticed." Jake frowns. "But I guess I'll take your word for it."

An awkward silence follows and the two of you finish the display, but you can't stop thinking about Ben walking past the shop.

How many times did he do that? And why? He always seems to hate walking and makes a big deal about me walking by myself. Why would he want to walk here all the way from Butcher's?

"Why don't you go check out the display of herbs by the register? I'm not sure how to arrange the Rosemary and the Oregano."

"Sure." You shrug heading back through the aisles that spill vines onto the concrete floor, your hand sliding through the leaves as you walk, feeling the plants begin to perk up with your gentle touch. The browning leaves vanished, the drooping stems straightened, and the plants turned up to you as if you were the sun.

Being here again and having a normal day was making you feel better. At home your plants had needed some TLC after you were gone for so many days and as hard as Jake tried to maintain every single plant in the store, you knew that it was too much for him to contain. Things like that were easy for you.

The day passes by slowly. Ben had told you that he'd be there to pick you up at closing and you found yourself checking the clock. You'd never done that before. When you were working in the past you never wished for the day to be over, but for some reason the idea that Ben was going to pick you up made you almost happy.

The shiny metal bell above the door jingled as the last customer of the day entered the shop, but you don't look up from the bouquet of flowers you were arranging for a last minute birthday order that someone called in for tomorrow morning. You didn't often do them, but Jake was busy breaking down the display of flowering plants in the other window and you were more than happy to help out.

Even if it was difficult with one hand.

You could hear whoever it was coming closer to the register, the sound of their shoes clunking against the weathered gray concrete floors with every step.

"Welcome in. Can I help you with something?" You don't look away from the sunflowers in the vase in front of you, using one hand to place some holly ferns to give it a bit more green before you reach for the baby's breath that sits in a bundle on the vintage wooden bar that served as a desk for the register.

"Well I'm not sure. Do you have anything that says 'I'm sorry my friend kidnapped you?'" A familiar voice asks.

Your head jerks upwards at the sound of the voice, but you already know who it is.

Darren stands there in his traditional black army jacket. His blonde buzzed hair is blindingly white in the sunlight that comes through the wide glass windows at the front of the shop, catching the glint of the gunmetal colored hoops in his right eyebrow. His smile is sheepish, apologetic, and if you hadn’t been through what you did, you might have believed that it was genuine.

"Darren?" Your voice is no more than a whisper, surprise leaking into it as you utter your brother's name.

You didn’t actually think that he would come to see you, not when he knew who Ben really was, and not when he knew that you knew he sacrificed you to save his own skin.

"Hey sissy. Did you miss me?"

The nickname strikes a nerve deep down.

"What the hell are you doing here?"

Jake glances over from the front window his eyes widening at your sudden outburst. He'd never met your brother before and he knew that something must be wrong if you were angry. Jake knew you well enough to know how composed you were most of the time and knew that for you to be angry something must really be wrong.

"I wanted to see you. Can I give you a hug?" Darren holds out his arms towards you.

"What do you think?"

"But you love hugs." He makes a step towards the end of the register.

"If you take another step I'm going to scream. What are you doing here?" You say again.

"I told you. I wanted to see you. I haven't been able to see you since-"

“Since you handed me over to Elijah to pay off your fucking gambling debt?” The baby's breath in your hand crumbles into a ball, but you barely feel it.

“See." Darren rolls his eyes and holds up a finger. "I knew you’d overreact. You’re way too sensitive.”

“Overreact? OVERREACT? He locked me in a fucking freezer!” You spit. “He tried to-“ A cold feeling rises and prickles against your skin when you remember the weight of Elijah’s body on yours and the way his hand squeezed your throat. The purplish-black marks were still there, but hidden under a burgundy ribbed turtle neck sweater that you'd put on this morning. You figured it would be hard to explain those marks to Jake, especially when Annie had told him you were in a car accident.

“Hey, is everything okay over here?” Jake interrupts. He wipes this dirt covered hands on his jeans as he gets closer to where Darren is leaning against the front of the register.

"Yeah." You clear your throat. "Darren was just leaving."

"No, I'm not." Darren hasn't looked away from you and hasn't acknowledged Jake's presence. "I want to talk to you."

"Too bad. I don’t want to hear anything you have to say." You breathe, but you could feel a twinge in your heart. The love you had for your brother was ebbing just on the edge of the rage and heartbreak that you felt every time you think about what he did to you. It was difficult to treat him this way, not when you'd given in to whatever he wanted for so long. You hated that about yourself, hated the piece of you that wanted to forgive him.

But Darren does not move, in fact you can see the way his eyes flick over you as if he can sense that you're unsure.

"I want to talk this out." He says a little more forcefully.

"If she says that she doesn’t want to talk to you, I’m going to have to ask you to leave." Jake replies continuing to frown at your brother. They were both about the same height, but where Darren was rail-thin, Jake had a little bit more muscle to him. Not as much as Ben, but enough that he was bigger that your brother.

But you knew that it would do little good. Darren was even more stubborn that you were, and you could see the dangerous glint in his eyes that got him into trouble more times than you could count when the two of you were growing up.

“Try it four eyes." Darren's lips pull back in a challenge.

The lights overhead flicker for just a second, almost imperceivable to the eye. Jake crosses his arms over his chest in a way that you think he must believe is intimidating. “I’m going to ask you to leave one more time before I call the police.”

"And I said that I'm not going to fucking leave without talking to my sister."

"Sister?" Jake falters looking at you, his blue eyes wide in surprise behind his glasses.

You stand there for a moment trying to think of a way out of this. There's a little voice buzzing in your ear telling you that something is wrong, but you can't put your finger on it. And an even smaller voice whispering that you should call Ben.

I don't need him to handle this. Darren and I have to talk eventually and might as well do it now.

"Fine, but let's take this outside." You walk around from behind the register. "Jake has to lock up in fifteen minutes."

"Perfect! I just need five." Darren smiles at you the same way that he always has, the smile that you'd laughed with and allowed to reassure you, but this time all it does is make all of this worse.

When the two of you get outside, the sun is just starting to sink behind the buildings, bathing everything in a golden glow. Despite the situation it is a beautiful day. The smell of the bakery next door sent the soothing aroma of cinnamon and brown sugar each time it's door opened, the warmth of the sun was on your back and shoulders, the wind had picked up just enough to rustle your hair where it was pulled back from your face in a ponytail, and you could hear the children playing in the park just around the corner where the trees sent their long shadows over the playground.

Darren shifts from foot to foot and you can see the way he's trying to think of something to say, as if he's pretending that he didn't rehearse this in his head. You wonder if he's always done that, if he'd rehearsed everything he ever said to you because he knew exactly what to say to get you to agree for so long.

"Look Darren, I don't want to talk about this. Nothing that you're going to say is going to make any of this okay. Nothing that happened was okay! You left me there with him, you brought me to him, and then you lied about why I was really there."

"I'm sorry about that." Darren's gaze softens, eyebrows furrowing in mock sincerity. "Believe me, I wouldn't have taken you there if I knew that Elijah was going to do any of those things to you honey."

"Oh that is such-"

"I will admit that I did lie about why you were there. But I knew that you wouldn't come if I told you that it was for weed and Elijah really said he just wanted you to look at the plants for a few minutes. He didn't say anything about a freezer." Darren holds up his hands as if surrendering.

"And there it is! You admit that you lied to me, that you manipulated me to get me to go with you. And then you had the audacity to say that if I was uncomfortable we could go home!" You shout at him, narrowing your eyes. "Well Darren, I gotta tell you I was fucking uncomfortable in that damn freezer and in his damn office, and where were you? Oh right…" You tap your lips with the tip of your finger. "You left me there with that fucking psychopath!"

"I didn't leave you there! I called Richie and when I came back into the office, you were gone. Elijah told me that you left! I went back to your apartment and-" Darren frowns at you. He didn't like that you weren't listening to what he had to say.

"Do you expect me to believe any of that bullshit?" You plant your hands on your hips as you interrupt him, feeling a surge of anger swelling in your chest.

Even though the two of you are technically standing outside of the shop, you can still feel the energy from the plants inside, intertwining with you, strengthening you, and waiting for your command.

Truthfully ever since you'd killed Elijah you hadn't been able to forget it. You'd never used your powers like that before, never knew that you could, and never had fanaticized about that. But now, standing outside of the shop with your brother you could feel the plants calling out to you, asking you to command them, begging you to free them. You could feel them clawing in the dirt, the roots beneath writhing and unsettled, the flowers turning to watch Darren and you. Even the trees down the street that stood as stoic protectors over the children playing beneath their feet began to bend towards the two of you.

Sure in the past you'd been connected to the world around you, but ever since everything that happened with Elijah, your powers felt different, as if there was something else brewing and prickling beneath your skin that begged to be unleashed.

"I'm trying to apologize and you won't even listen to me!" Your brother shouts. Darren was leaning down over you, not as tall as Ben, but tall enough to be bigger than you.

You'd never feared him in the past, but you saw something flicker behind his eyes, something predatory, something that you'd never seen before in all the years that you'd spent with your brother.

"I don't want to hear anything you have to say Darren. I want you to leave-" You reply, hands still planted on your hips.

"No."

"No?"

"No. I can't stop by your damn apartment because you have that asshole hovering around. He would tear me to pieces before I got a chance to talk to you. And I want to explain what happened." Darren snaps back, eyes dark.

"I know what happened! Elijah told me exactly-"

"You're going to believe him over me? I'm your brother! I'm your blood, do you really think that I would have let Elijah do any of those things to you if I knew he would?"

"I don't know anymore."

It broke your heart to admit that aloud, but it was true. You didn't know if Darren cared about you at all and if he loved you the way that you loved him, if he ever had.

"What do you mean you don't know?" He looks hurt, shoulders slumping downward. "Sissy-"

"I-" You falter.

For just a fleeting moment the anger and heartbreak you feel towards your brother recedes just enough for the love you have for him begin to trickle back in. You wanted to believe that he cared about you. Frustrated tears burn in your eyes, because a part of you wants to push him away but there's another part that clings on with bloody fingertips and asks you to listen to him.

Because Darren was your family and all you could think of was if your parents were here what would they do? All those years that you supported your brother you'd thought that you were honoring their memory by refusing to turn your back on him. You wanted to love your brother, wanted to believe that everything he was saying was genuine, and all the years that you gave in to whatever Darren asked you were bearing down on you.

"Come on sissy. I love you. You're the only family that I have left." Darren soothes taking a step closer to you when he senses how hesitant you are to push him away.

"Well-"

"Please listen to-" Darren begins to say, but his entire body is yanked backward by something.

"She doesn't need to hear another fucking word you have to say." Ben snarls, holding Darren tightly by the throat above the sidewalk.

You hadn't seen him walk up. Ben could move silently when he wanted to and right now he looks murderous. There's a fire blazing behind his eyes turning them into heated furnaces of pure emerald, practically glowing in the last slips of the sunlight that peeks behind the buildings and stretches the shadows long over the almost empty street. His mouth is pulled back in a snarl as he stares at your brother, the grip he has on his throat tightening.

The couple across the street gasp when they watch Darren struggle in Ben's unbreakable grip, but Ben doesn't acknowledge them.

"I made you a promise." Ben's voice is a low growl as he holds Darren up so high off the ground that Darren's feet kick helplessly in the air. "You should have stayed gone you insignificant piece of shit."

Darren's eyes flash to yours. "Are you really going to let him treat me this way? I'm your brother!"

Ben's grip tightens on his throat and Darren grabs on to Ben's wrist.

You stand there frozen in horror unable to speak. A part of you is screaming for Ben to let him go and another part of you is begging for Ben to do what you don't think you can. You felt so weak in that moment, unable to turn your back on your brother, on the abuser, the manipulator, and the man who used you for years.

Ben's eyes flick to yours for a moment, something passing through his gaze that you can't understand, but it gives you strength.

"Sissy?" Darren's voice sounds so broken.

"Ben. Put him down." You say.

"What?" Ben snaps, eyes flashing.

"Please. Put him down." You breathe, your eyes catching Ben's for a moment.

Ben's jaw is tight, the muscles in his torso tense, but he does what you say with a grunt. Darren's body falls onto the sidewalk and he gasps for air, touching his throat as he gets to his feet.

Darren smiles at you through the deep breaths. "I knew you wouldn't let him-"

"Leave" You say as calmly as you can, but there's a slight tremor on the edge of your voice.

Ben takes a step closer to you when he hears it, but he doesn't touch you. He's still staring down Darren, eyebrows pulled tight together, and his mouth turned down into a frown with his arms crossed tightly over his chest. You know that he's probably a little pissed at you that you told him to put Darren down, but you also couldn't believe that he listened to you.

"What?" Darren stutters.

"Leave." You repeat. "I never want you to come back here ever."

"But I'm your-"

"If you say that you're her fucking brother one more time, I'm going to rip you in half." Ben's hands clench at his sides and you know that he's holding himself back from grabbing Darren again.

“You’re my family. I love you.” Darren says, the edge of his voice cracking just a little bit, but there's something behind his gaze that makes you pause. You're not sure if it's because he's trying to hide how mad he is at Ben or what, but there is something unsettling about the way he's looking at you.

“I don’t think you do.” It broke you to say it, to admit it out loud. “I’ve let you use me all these years, sacrificing my own happiness, my own success for you, because I loved you, but I don’t think you’ve ever once loved me. All you’ve done is look out for yourself.”

“That’s ridiculous-“

“When’s my birthday Darren?” You ask him, throat tight.

He freezes. “You're kidding right? You really think I don't know when your birthday is?"

"What have I been dreaming of doing since I was ten years old?"

"Sissy-"

"Your birthday is June 12th." You reply without stuttering. "Since you were thirteen years old your dream has been to own a blue 1970 Chevelle with black racing stripes. But you can never seem to scrape together enough money to get one."

Darren visibly pauses with your answer.

"I pay attention to everything you tell me Darren. I remember everything because I love you. And if you loved me, you would know those things about me. You would actually care enough to remember that I hate surprises, that I hate that insipid nickname, and since I was eight years old the only thing that I've been dreaming about is to open up my own farmer's market."

"You're kidding right?" Darren snorts. "That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard."

"And that's exactly why I don't believe that you love me. Because if you did you would support me the way that I've supported you for years."

"I-"

"No. I have sacrificed so much for you and you have never once done anything for me! So I'm asking you to leave, because as much as I love you, I can't do this anymore." The tears were blurring your vision, but you were holding it together the best you could. Ben was now standing so close to you that his arm was almost touching yours and you feel his fingertips brush the back of your hand just for a second, as if he wants to hold your hand but he doesn't.

"But-" Darren gapes, mouth wide open.

"She told you to fucking scram Dipshit." Ben snarls his eyes narrowing at your brother.

You could tell that it was taking a lot of effort on Ben's part not to turn Darren into mush and it made you grateful that he was here. Because Ben was letting you handle it, but he was there for you if you needed him to be. It was the first time that you realized how much you needed him with you.

Darren stands there for a minute eyeing Ben and you, emotions running together across his face merging with one another, his eyes darkening. And then he does something you didn't expect.

Darren begins to laugh.

Not just a little giggle or a snort, a deep throated rumble that shakes his body as he doubles over laughing so hard that he begins to wheeze.

"Oh sissy. I've been waiting for this for years. You have no idea." Darren continues to laugh, gasping for air and putting his hands on his thighs to hold himself steady.

What the hell is happening?

"What?" You ask tentatively. Even Ben is looking at him in surprise.

"Man. I've been wondering for years how long it would take you to finally grow a fucking backbone, but wow. I never thought it would be now." He starts to slow clap. "I'm impressed."

"What are you talking about?"

The glint in his eyes was back and Darren was smiling wide, so wide that you could see all his teeth. It reminded you of when Annie and you used to watch Crocodile Hunter on tv when you were kids and would huddle together watching Steve Irwin fearlessly handle them.

Darren's smile turns more into a smirk. "Kinda a good thing too, because I don't need you anymore, not with the way business is going. Honestly, I should thank your boyfriend. He solved a major problem for me."

"What problem?" Ben snarls.

"Elijah." Darren laughs out the name. "When I found out that you were Soldier Boy and saw how friendly you were with my sister at that ridiculous fundraiser. I knew that you'd come save her and kill Elijah. Poisoning his plants and letting it slip at that my sister just happened to be a plant supe at a poker game was the only way that I could get her involved and Elijah jumped at the chance.

He was at the fundraiser? When was he at the fundraiser?

"Why would you do that?" You ask in surprise.

What in the actual fuck is going on? He planned for Elijah to take me? He purposely poisoned the plants?

You were seeing a different side of Darren. Growing up he'd always had a temper, but Darren was never conniving or cunning. He never planned ahead more than an hour. It was always you that had to remind him to do things and you that begged him to at least think ahead for the entire week.

He's not some criminal mastermind. The guy doesn't believe that pickles used to be cucumbers for fucks sake.

"He was bad for business, he was already encroaching on my territory with the weed and then he said he was going to expand into cars and I couldn't have that. So." Your brother shrugs.

"But I don't understand why?"

Ben looks just as confused as you do, but the anger has not vanished from his eyes. You realize that Ben is waiting for you to say the word for him to start in on Darren. And it made you feel grateful again that he was here with you.

"Oh sissy you're still so innocent. I almost feel bad for you, not really. But" Darren flashes another brilliant smile that doesn't seem to fit the conversation the three of you are having. "I guess I should thank you. I would have never been able to build an empire without you."

"What the fuck are you talking about?" Ben spits.

He was getting tired of Darren's monologuing and frankly so were you. An odd feeling prickled against your skin, splattering and splashing like oil in a skillet and the plants in the shop behind you pressed themselves against the windows as if trying to warn you. There was something wrong about this whole situation, something that you knew that you were missing, but you couldn’t put your finger on it.

"And to think I was so upset when you survived that night." Darren looks disappointed, but he chuckles. "Of course my aim now is a little bit better than it was then." His eyes pulse a dangerous electric blue and an unnatural hum fills the air. "I've had the practice."

He's a supe? How long has he been a-

The thought stutters to a halt when you realize what he said.

"Your aim? What do you-"

The words are barely out of your mouth, when the cold shock of what he's talking about hits you like you'd been dunked into a bucket of cold water. The memory of the night your parents died comes crashing over you in a wave and you're transported into the backseat of the car. The supple leather beneath your fingertips, the chill of the air conditioning, the melding of your parent's voices to "Nights In White Satin," the patter of rain against the metal roof that streaked across the glass windows, and the sticky remnants of chocolate ice cream on your cheeks. The unnatural flash of white light illuminates the interior of the car, the light that seemed to crackle and pulse across the space in front of the vehicle and seemed to come from in front of the car and not above the way the cops said it had.

The same flash of light that everyone said was lightning, but now you knew better.

You remembered it all, the hum of electricity in the air as the bolt hit the car and your dad jerking the wheel and sending the car over the bridge, and the sound of your mother's scream ringing in your ears just before the jolt of the car hitting the water and everything went black.

"No." You whisper taking a step back from your brother. "It was you?"

Horror and shock clamps down around your throat making it difficult to breathe.

Why would he do something like that? They were our parents. Why would he want to kill the two people who loved him as unconditionally as they loved me?

You didn't have one unhappy memory from the childhood you spent with your parents. The house was always warm, filled with the smell of baked goods, and the love your parents had for one another and for Darren and you. Every day was fused with wonder and excitement, and the weekends were filled with surprise trips to places that you’d never been before. They cared so much for the two of you, sacrificing the big things in their lives so they could be around Darren and you.

Darren wasn't with us in the car, he said he had homework and that he couldn't come with us to my recital.

Darren smiles wider, proud that you figured it out. "I was worried that you saw me standing on the road that night in the rain. That's why I left for a few days after the accident, but when I showed up again and you were so happy to see me, I saw my chance. You didn't know that it was me and there wasn't a need for me to stay gone."

"But why? Why would you do that?"

Darren's expression turns murderous. "Do you have any idea what it was like being second best to you my whole life?" Electricity jumps from his fingertips, flashing a dangerous blue and crackling in the air. "What it was like to be your brother?"

Holy fuck he's the electric supe. And the empire that Elijah was encroaching on was his chop shop.

The thought blazes through you and you remember what Elijah said about "expanding into automotives."

Of course Darren needed us to take Elijah out. Elijah had money and had the means to destroy Darren, but without the competition then…

You blink to bring your thoughts back together, realizing what your brother just said to you. “What are you talking about? You were never second best-"

"Yes I was!" He seethes. "You’ve always been the special one. The supe, the favorite, the golden child. I could never touch you! You're the one that mom and dad were so proud of.”

Darren takes a step forward and Ben mirrors the move, shifting his body in front of you to protect you from Darren, but Darren doesn't take his eyes off you. His face is contorted in hate, anger flaring white hot in his eyes that still glow an unnatural and dangerous bright blue. The air is full of the energy, popping and crackling along Darren's skin with every pulse of electricity.

"Darren-" You begin to say, but he interrupts.

"No." He snarls. "I'm talking now. You can't shut me up. Do you have any idea how long I've waited for this? They put you on a fucking pedestal for years. You were the one with all the toys all the talent. You're the one that they gave the Compound V to. I had to scavenge and scrape together enough money to bribe a friend of mine to swipe some from his mother's hospital."

So that's how he got it.

Anger, rage, heart break, and shock were fighting in your chest for dominance. You could feel the burn of tears in your eyes understanding that the brother you thought that you'd loved for all these years was also the man who murdered your parents in cold blood.

He tried to kill you too.

The thought was everywhere, ricocheting around in your head, the truth that Darren hid for years finally coming out.

"I was made for more. You. You're nothing." Darren spits. "You're a disappointment. Mom and dad gave you the powers and all you do is sit in a fucking plant shop all day long. What about me? I can fucking fly! I can fry someone from thirty fucking feet away! I amounted to something. All you do is make the fucking flowers bloom."

You'd heard the insult before on the lips of the men Elijah employed, the men who underestimated you. You'd heard it before in the tone of voice your brother had when he spoke to you the other night when he came to crash in your apartment and took your bed.

The energy in the air was reaching a dangerous peak and you could still feel it scraping against your skin. The plants in the shop behind you are pressed tight against the window and you have no idea where Jake is, only that you hope he's far away from whatever is about to happen.

Anger pulses hard and fast in your chest, sending a bitter taste into your mouth. "Oh you amounted to something? You didn't amount to anything! You’re still just a sack of shit that’s I’ve been dragging around. And I can't believe that I let you do it to me for years! You don’t care about me you don’t love me-"

"Of course I fucking don’t! I never have!"

"And then you killed the two people who loved you unconditionally-"

"They didn't fucking love me!" Darren snarls. "The only thing they loved was you. A pathetic little bitch who should have just keeled over and died like a good girl."

Ben's hand comes out and grabs Darren by the front of his jacket hauling him up into the air. "Don't you fucking speak to her that way." His voice is no more than a growl, rumbling low in his chest, his own eyes flashing a deep green, darker than you'd ever seen before. His skin has taken on a golden glow, coming through the dark t-shirt and pair of jeans he was wearing and the smell of ozone fills the air around the three of you.

"What are you going to do Benny?" Darren's body is glowing a blue beneath his outfit. "Show me that famous Soldier Boy temper? Fuck, you're just as pathetic as she is, nothing more than a washed up-"

Ben isn't holding on to Darren anymore, Darren's body is flying back into the street with the force of Ben's throw, but it doesn't strike ground, it gets hit mid-air by a passing bright red minivan. Darren's body flips backwards over the top of the car and lands in the street in a broken heap.

You're still frozen on the sidewalk as Ben sails in to beat down Darren's body where it lies, but there's an awful flash of bright blue light and an SUV that was parked on the street goes flying into Ben, propelling both of them into the bakery next door to the plant shop. The loud crashing of glass and brick with the force of the hit rings in your ears.

"Ben!" You shout, but he's no where in sight.

Darren stands from the ground, one of his arms hanging limply at his side and there's a bloody gash on his forehead that drips blood down into his eye, but and when Darren smiles, blood smears the inside of his usually white teeth.

"Goodbye sissy."

You don't have time to react. The bolt of lightning catches you in the center of the chest and throws you backwards into the plant shop. There's a terrible feeling of weightlessness, before your body hits the glass windows and slams into the flowering plant display that Jake had been working on when Darren showed up.

You land on your back hard, head hitting the concrete with a sickening crack that you feel vibrate through your entire body. Pain is everywhere. There's glass imbedded in your back, the cast on your arm is cracked open, your leg is burning and you're afraid to look down to see what you'll find. You can taste blood in your mouth and feel something sticky underneath your head that you're sure is the same.

You stare up at the florescent lights of the shop for a moment, the revelation of everything your brother had done beginning to finally sink in.

He killed our parents, he tried to kill me.

Tears burn and fall down your cheeks with the thought. Emotions swirling in your chest too fast to name.

I spent years taking care of him, letting him berate me, manipulate me, use me for whatever he needed and not once did he love me. I was so stupid. How could I have been so stupid?

The plants were circling around you, calling out to you, brushing against your broken body as you continued to lay there staring up at the ceiling. Black was starting to close in on the edge of your vision, making everything go a little bit fuzzy, but your mind was awake.

He killed our parents, he tried to kill me.

You think again, but you still can't move. You feel the trailing vines of the plants touching your legs, wrapping over them, laying down over your chest, and creeping up towards your broken arm and your face. They were whispering to you, asking your permission, begging you to let them free.

He killed our parents, he tried to kill me, and he tried to kill Ben.

And with that thought, you feel the rage begin to take over, burning hot and beating against your rib cage like a drum.

The plants around you begin to glow a vivid green, binding around your limbs, their strength flooding into your body as you call them forth to help you. The healing energy wrapping you in a cocoon of energy and life, taking away your pain. Pieces of glass fall from your skin, your bones knit back together, your skin closes and the scars left behind disappear as if they never happened.

You rise from the ground, the plants that wrapped around you no more than blackened tendrils of what they used to be, crunching underfoot as you make your way towards the front of the shop. You could feel the energy thrumming through your veins, the wounds you had were gone, the exhaustion and fatigue washed away by the plants that gave what life they had to make you whole.

You'd only ever given life to things that needed you, you'd never once considered that you could take it away.

Darren is still standing in the street, looking proud of himself, but when he sees you reappear in the broken window his smile falters.

"Guess you can take a hit." Darren shrugs. "I'm a little impressed-"

"Our entire lives you’ve never appreciated me. All I did all was listen to you, do everything I could to love and support you. I did whatever you asked without question. I spent so much of my own money, sacrificing little things in my life, doing ridiculous jobs to make a little bit extra, because I thought I was helping you.”

“You did.” Darren sneers. “I never had to work-“

“I’m not finished.” You snap. “I have given so much of myself to you and all it did was enable you. Annie was right and our grandmother was right. You are a leech. All you do is take and take until there's nothing left, and you don't care who you hurt."

"Look who's finally seeing the bigger picture!"

"I am." Your heart was running a mile a minute and you could still feel the remnants of power from the plants thrumming in your veins. "You're a parasite and Ben was right, I was too stupid to see it, too conditioned to believe that you cared about me. But you don't, the only person you care about is yourself." Your voice trembles just a little bit as you say those words, but you knew it was true. "I'm sorry that you spent your entire life believing that our parents didn't love you, I'm sorry that I wasted so much of my own money and time taking care of you, and I'm sorry that after all this time there's still apart of me that wants to forgive you even though you don't deserve it."

"Oh no sissy did I hurt your feelings?" Darren puffs out his bottom lip in an exaggerated pout. "What are you gonna do? Throw a spinach puff at me?" He cackles. "You're so pathetic. You really think that Mr. American Dream and you can beat me? Please." Bluish white arcs of energy illuminate the air around him, catching in the long shadows, emanating out from his body. His skin has gone an even paler shade of white, his veins a dark blue beneath. "In Greek mythology Zeus is the king of the gods. And all the others bow to him." He raises a hand and the electricity dances across his palm. "Have you come to bow?"

“No, because you were wrong about one thing.” You feel your eyes shift to bright green with your words, the plants in the store behind you screaming for blood, writhing together in a tangled mass in the depths of the shop.

"And what’s that sissy?” Darren snorts.

“Ben didn’t kill Elijah. I did.”

The building that housed "Please Don't Die" explodes behind you raining brick, mortar, and rubble on the street around where you stand. The creature that crawls forward on broken limbs and tangled roots from the remnants of the store is the size of a city bus. It looks like a large lizard, the claws easily the size of your forearm, it's head the size of a washing machine, and the body rippling with muscle woven from stems, leaves, and vines to claw it's way from the rubble on four legs.

Darren stares up at it in shock, confused at it's sudden appearance.

It opens it's mouth, revealing a mouth full of broken sticks fashioned into points, and lets loose a roar that shakes the parked cars that line the street. You could feel your body intertwined with it, the creature an extension of yourself, the rage, anger, and frustration you felt pouring through the veins of the behemoth that towered over the empty street.

This has never happened before, but it felt right. As if everything inside of you had been building from this, since the moment you used your power to kill Elijah your powers had felt different, amplified. And now standing in the street with the creature at your command it feels cosmically correct. There's a switch inside that flipped the right way and for the first time in your life, you feel powerful.

Darren tries to blast you backward again, but the lizard is faster than he expected it to be absorbing the bolt of electricity. It plows head first into Darren, knocking him back into the pavement. He lets out a yell of surprise, the sound of his head hitting the pavement echoing down the street.

You could feel your body thrumming with power, electrifying your veins, exploding from every nerve ending, and charging through skin and sinew to recreate you into something that you never knew existed and never knew you could be.

The creature's clawed hand is on Darren's chest, flattening him down into the street, and he struggles beneath it electricity crackling in the air. The lizard stares down at him with unblinking eyes, not reacting to the arcs of bluish-white light that pulse from Darren's hands.

It looks over it's massive shoulder at you, the plants that formed it’s body asking your permission, bending to your will, opening it's mouth to click in a broken language that only you understand. You can hear the little whispers of the leaves against your ears and feel the roots and vines that knotted together to form the behemoth that takes up most of the street.

"Sissy-" Darren begins to say, his eyes wide. You could see him mentally calculating his mistake, his misinterpretation of what you were capable of, and see him trying to switch tactics to save his own skin.

But you don’t want to hear any of it anymore. You didn't want to waste another second of your life listening to anything he said.

"I'm your brother." He wheezes the clawed hand heavy on his chest, pushing him down into the pavement.

"I don’t have a brother." Your voice is cold and emotionless. "All you are is the asshole who killed my parents and used me in every way he could. And you're never going to use ever again. Goodbye Darren."

"Wait-"

The creature's jaws fasten onto Darren's head and his last words are cut off in the rip of teeth and crunch of bone.

You stand there watching the lizard tear at his body, gazing at the bloody mangled mass that was your brother and your creation that crouches above him. Blood drips from it's bloody maw onto the pavement, staining the street red and it looks at you as if waiting for your next command, but you can't move.

"Petals?" You hear Ben say from somewhere to your left, but you don't acknowledge him. "Are you okay?"

The rush you felt from the plants is gone, the green fading from your eyes, and the sound of Darren's final gasp still vibrating against your ears. The energy is slowly ebbing from your body and you're scared by what's left behind, because that meant that everything was about to come crashing back down on you.

The creature turns and moves closer to you, pressing it's giant head against your torso as if trying to comfort you. And you raise a hand to rub the top of it’s head you can't stop staring at the body, not quite comprehending everything that has happened in the past fifteen minutes.

Darren killed my parents, he deserved this, he tried to kill me, he tried to-

There were tears in your eyes, bubbling over, as you exhale a gasp and a bone shaking sob. Everything was crashing down over you quickly and you sink to your knees.

The creature seems to follow you down, growing smaller and smaller until it's no more than the size of your hand, and clings to your jean's pocket.

Darren's body is unrecognizable, lying in pieces, and scattered over the street. People were running and screaming in terror, but you couldn't hear them. You knew that the police would be coming quickly and you didn’t know how the fuck you were going to explain any of this. Not the giant lizard, not the destruction of the building behind you, and especially not explain any of this to Jake who you hoped wasn't hurt or worse.

You feel Ben's hand come down on your shoulder. "Petals look at me, come on."

"He killed them." You murmur, the memories of your parents flashing through your mind, all of them happy and in love. "He killed them because he thought they loved me more. It's all my fault." The memory of the nightmare grates across your skin sending a shudder through your body.

"Petals." Ben turns your face to look at him. His eyes are still filled with the force of his rage, but they are softer now, looking at you with an unreadable emotion that you'd only seen in the hospital when you woke up and Ben sat with you. His hand gently traces the curve of your cheek. "That was not your fault. Everything he did wasn't your fault. He was fucked in the head. He-"

"I can't do this." You swallow, pulling yourself from Ben and standing up on shaky legs.

"What?"

"I've got to get out of here." Your feet stumble slightly on the cracked pavement, and Ben catches your now unbroken arm to stabilize you, but also to stop you from leaving

"Let me make sure that you're okay first-"

"I'm not!" Your voice breaks. "None of what happened is okay. I'm not okay Ben I-" The sobs were coming closer together now, everything coming down hard and making it difficult to breathe. "I can't breathe. I-"

"Hey. Shhh-" Ben tries to step closer to you.

"No Ben." You shake your head, tugging your arm to tell him to let you go, but he doesn't. The tears fall faster, soaking through your bloody shirt.

Emotions were pummeling you, overwhelming you, and were making it difficult to speak and to think. The only thought you had was that you had to get the hell out of here, that you couldn't look at what used to be Darren anymore, and that you couldn't look at what used to be the shop you loved so much.

"Just wait a damn minute-" He says more forcefully, tightening his grip.

"No. Let me go."

"Petals-" He's saying it in the soft concerned way that he did whenever it was the two of you, but you couldn’t listen to it. All you could feel was the jumble of emotions in your head and the events of today beginning to press down over you. Darren's confessions and his death were crushing you into oblivion.

"Let me go Ben." You shout again, through a sob.

"I don't want to. Let me help damnit!"

"No, please." You shout, tears streaking down your face as he finally lets you go. "I need to be alone. I need to-" You gasp. "I need to go home."

The darkness was closing in quickly and you didn't know what to do. The tide was overwhelming, pulling you under with every passing second.

"Then let me take you home."

"No." You shake your head. "I have to go home." You say it again for him to understand what you mean. "I can't be here right now with this. With any of this I-"

"Please-" Ben's voice is thick and it's the first time you've ever heard him sound that way.

"No, I have to go."

And you run, leaving the body of your brother and everything you know behind, while Ben watches you go with a twinge in his own chest that he can't understand.

A/N: Lots happened in this chapter. I know the revelations and the twists were WILD. But it finally happened, Darren got what he deserved. I know we don't see too much of Ben and the reader, but in the next chapter things between them are about to become less blurry. And we get a re-appearance of Granny Di in the next chapter!

As always, thank you so much for reading! Reblogs, Comments, and Likes are not required, but are always appreciated. I love hearing what y'all think! If you'd like to be added to my taglist for this series please let me know! :)

Taglist:

@roseblue373 @mrsjenniferwinchester @corruptedcruiser @winchesterwild78 @the-super-who-locked-wizard

@criminalyetminimal @52ndstreeet @bitchykittenconnoisseur @anna6307 @libby99hb

@faephoria @possiblyafangirl @jqtaro @quietlybitchy @tinydancer40

@roger-that-cap @megara0224 @miskwaadesiwag @rainyeggvoidpurse

@soldiergrimes @tiffsbagels @podiumackles

@ifyouwerethemoon @ririshkin @peachhiz @fitxgrld @sukunassfinger

@xx-spooky-little-vampire-xx @ej13928 @deans-spinster-witch @kr804573 @modiddys-blog

@acciosherlockholmes @minas-fantasies @fireskyy

@n-o-p-e-never @nesnejwritings @am0rem @tpwkcalli @momggn

@fitxgrld @whimsicalcherry @ladysparkles78

@spxideyver @zepskies @impala67stellawinchester

@reidtomewinchester @samanthadegaro @glossy01 @nikimisery

@tunnelvisionlove @incandxscents @winchester-stark @samahanta

@melonmochi

@kamisobsessed @whichwitchwanda @karolina-12110905 @jcollins03-blog

#soldier boy x reader #soldier boy x you #jensen ackles #soldier boy #soldier boy x female reader #jensen ackles soldier boy #soldier boy/ben #the boys amazon #the boys fanfic #soldier boy fic #soldier boy fanfiction #soldier boy x y/n

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danikamariewrites · 8 months ago

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Together for the First Time

Feysand x reader

A/n: happy Poly week! I’m so excited to be doing this and reading what everyone else has come up with. Today is Day 1 which is beginnings. I decided to do when Feysand and reader start being open with the Inner Circle about their relationship and of course Cassian’s inability to keep a secret. @polyacotarweek

Warnings: none

For the first time in two hundred years Cassian was actually early for a meeting with his brothers. He even had a lil pep in his step. Things were good, great even. He and Nesta were good, Nyx loved spending time with him, the family was at peace. Nothing could ruin Cassian’s day.

A giggle from inside Rhys’s office interrupted his thoughts. It sounded unfamiliar.

Creeping closer to the door Cassian finds it cracked open. Willing his massive body to be stealthy he holds his breath and listens.

That sweet giggle rings through the room again along with Rhys and Feyre’s laughter. Odd. Cassian wasn’t aware of any other meetings today. He was supposed to take up all of his brothers’ time today.

“Alright,” that voice. Cassian knows that voice. Where has he heard that voice?

“We should probably go get Nyx from his nap together. Since Rhys put him down he’s going to want us.”

Cassian slightly turned his head to look through the cracked door. The sight had his jaw unhinging, practically hitting the floor. Rhys kissing Feyre then you. You, y/n! With his brother and Feyre! When on earth did this happen?

Cassian began to panic. Oh Mother, what if he’s the only one that knows? Cass won’t be able to keep his mouth shut.

As you and Feyre made your way to the door Cassian began to jog as quietly as possible around the corner. Peaking, he watched you and Feyre walk down the hall hand in hand.

Plastering himself against the wall he waits a few moments before heading into Rhys’s office. Composing himself he enters the office ready to give Rhys his update about the Illyrian army.

———

Rhys thought about his brother's odd behavior as he followed the sound of his son's playful giggles. What on earth had Cassian so jumpy and tense?

He shook his head forgetting all about the stressful conversation.

Upon seeing you and Feyre playing with Nyx his smile widened. Sitting on the floor Rhys began to hand his son blocks for the little village he was focused on constructing.

“Are you two sure you want to do this tonight?” You ask from your spot in the corner of the room, propped up by the mountain the size of Ramiel of Nyx’s stuffed toys.

Feyre and Rhys give you a sad look. “Why wouldn’t we be sure?” Rhys coos at you.

You shrug at them, looking away absentmindedly playing with the wing of a stuffed owl. “What if the family doesn’t accept us, me?”

They move to either side of you, squishing you in a side hug. “Of course they will. And even if they don’t it doesn’t matter.” “You’re positive?”

“Sweet girl, you are our mate. Of course we are sure.” Rhys kisses your forehead as Feyre kisses your cheek. Nyx huffs, feeling left out the small boy yells, “Hey! No fair, I want kisses too!” He throws his small body onto the three of you. Knocking you back into the stuffed animals in a fit of giggles.

———

Dinner started with light conversation and a delicious appetizer thanks to Elain. You sit with Rhys and Feyre at the end of the table. Your chair very close to the two of them.

Cassian felt like he was going to explode. He has kept this gods damned secret to himself all day. Another new record.

As the main course appears with a wave of Rhys’s hand he clears his throat. The family’s attention turns to him. All happy and content faces.

“Feyre and I have exciting news to share with you.” The two look at you, bright smiles on their faces as the bond hums between the three of you.

Anticipation coursed through the room as Rhys grasped your hand, giving it a loving squeeze.

“We have discovered a triad bond. Between myself, Feyre, and y/n.” He said happily, beaming at his friends. You couldn’t look at them. Holding your breath your eyes dart around everyone’s faces.

You found nothing but love and acceptance. Mor raised her wine glass, “Congratulations! This is rare, but wow! You deserve all the happiness in the world.”

The rest raise their glasses cheering, “here, here!”

At that hour anxiety was relieved. It seemed so was Cassian’s. After taking a huge gulp of wine Cass he breathed out the loudest sigh of relief. His head hitting the table. “Thank the Mother!” Everyone looked at him, Azriel let out one of those rare laughs at his brother's antics. “Cass?” Feyre asks with a chuckle.

“I saw you and y/n earlier coming out of the office, I also saw you guys in the office because I was early. I’ve been keeping this damn secret all day and thank gods you said something!” He rambled.

“Wait,” Rhys looks at him with a raised brow, “you were early?

#acotar #acotar fanfiction #acotar reader fic #acotar reader imagine #acotar imagine #feyre x you #feyre x reader #Feyre archeron #feyre acotar #feyreandrhysand #rhysand x you #rhysand x reader #rhysand acotar #poly!feysand x you #poly!feysand #poly!feysand x reader #poly+acotarweek2024 #poly+acotarweek2024 d1

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actual-changeling · 1 year ago

Text

Welcome back to Alex's unhinged meta corner - although today it is less unhinged and more of a watertight analysis.

What I am about to present you is something most people have probably already noticed, but it has been three months and I still lose my mind while going through the final fifteen frame by frame (which is a normal thing normal people like us do, right? right).

You literally cannot convince me my following meta is wrong, and the only person whose criticism I will accept on this post is Michael Sheen and Michael Sheen ONLY. If you're not Michael Sheen (hi Michael Sheen who probably has a secret tumblr account) then your guess is as good as mine, though again, I think mine is solid.

So.

We all love and hate Aziraphale's "I forgive you", but what I find even more painful is the fact that before that he almost said "I love you". Then he stops himself and changes it, and the amount of micro-expressions on his face as he makes that decision is my current cause of death.

Here's the clip as evidence #1, and while it can definitely support itself, let's dive into the pain a little more, shall we?

One important thing I noticed is that Aziraphale doesn't look at Crowley while he stutters his way through his initial reaction. He blinks up at him for a few frames before averting his eyes again and only holds eye contact after the almost-confession (from here on referred to as IL-).

This is Aziraphale holding eye contact with Crowley (left) vs. him looking away (right):

The frame on the left is from the I forgive you (IFY) part of the scene, the other one from right before IL-. If we go through the above clip little by little we will find that he avoids Crowley's face the entire time and his gaze slips further and further down, which I interpret as him overthinking/trying to come up with something to respond to this entire situation.

He is overwhelmed and surprised, caught between his two main desires: Crowley and being a Good Angel.

Combing through the frames, we can actually nail down exactly when Aziraphale first makes eye contact before the IL- and when he stops. Keep the above comparison in mind! The angle is slightly different because his chin is lower and he straightens up throughout the scene.

So! This is where he starts looking at Crowley:

And this is where he stops:

Hard to see? Let's zoom in on his eyes (numbers are the file names):

Now, you might ask me "Alex, this is all fine, although a bit insane, but why is any of this important?"

Because, fellow tumblr user and good omens enthusiast, I think that looking at Crowley is what changes his mind about what to say.

He doesn't look at him -> about to confess his feelings.

He looks at him -> says the absolutely worst possible thing.

Partly to hurt him because they're both lashing out at each other during this argument, but he looks at Crowley, looks at the person that just kissed him, that told him they could have been an us, that wants him and has always wanted him, screw everyone else.

He looks at Crowley and he wants to say l love you but then what? Once he says those words, he can't leave. He just can't.

We have to remember that they have existed within a complicated dance, a game that they have been playing for centuries without ever telling each other what that game actually is, what the rules are - because they couldn't. It was based entirely on trust and knowing the other person well enough to play it safe.

Crowley just flipped the playing board. Nothing is the way it should be, he is refusing to do their dance, refusing to play. He is looking at him and daring him to stop trying to put the pieces back on the board. The only thing neither of them has done yet is actually say I love you out loud.

Saying those words would mean stepping away from the playing board and acknowledging the room they have been playing in. It would mean saying fuck you to heaven, yes, but it would also force Aziraphale to finally define himself outside of the role he has been playing for both Crowley and heaven, and he isn't ready for that yet.

Additionally, there is the fear and/or knowledge (depending on what else the Metatron might have said or done that we did not see) that heaven will retaliate against him and Crowley if he disobeys them now, and he does not want to risk that either.

All that is what, in my opinion, happens in his head when he averts his eyes and interrupts himself. I do kinda what to make a whole different post about his facial expressions leading up to the IFY, so I will end this one with one more bit of pain.

Ready?

Firstly, the face he makes when he makes his decision.

Look at the tight line of his lips, the pain etched into his face, the pure pain in his eyes.

This is the face of someone who knows exactly how badly he is going to hurt Crowley and himself. This is an apology, an I'm sorry for what I'm about to do, this hurts me as much as it hurts you. I'm sorry but I have to.

And then he winces afterwards. I don't know about you, but this is exactly the kind of face I make when I'm emotionally torturing myself with my own thoughts. For the final blow, please look at the picture very, very closely, especially the last frame, because Aziraphale isn't just sorry and he isn't just in pain.

Aziraphale is scared because he knows* that he might lose Crowley over this. He knows that saying I forgive you is (almost) unforgivable. He KNOWS.

He does it anyway because he will lose Crowley either way but he'd rather have him alive and hating him than dead.

With that I am concluding today's unhinged meta corner, thank you for your attention and you're welcome for the pain.

Also: If you want to call me a 'tin hatter' or insane or otherwise make fun of me - this is very much a girl, what were YOU doing at the devil's sacrament moment because you read my meta post all the way to the end. <3

*authors note: what Aziraphale thinks he knows and what is actually real is not the same thing but that's a different post

#alex talks good omens #good omens #good omens meta #ineffable husbands #crowley #aziraphale #good omens season 2 #go2 #aziracrow #crowley x aziraphale #ineffable divorce #the final fifteen #good omens kiss #good omens 2 meta #no nightingales

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daddy-dins-girl · 1 year ago

Text

Playdate

Main Masterlist Series Masterlist

Chapter Two | Chapter Three

AO3 link

Marcus Pike x f! Reader x Dave York

Word Count: 7.8k

Summary: You love Marcus with all your heart and you’re not dissatisfied with him or his efforts in the bedroom, but you always hoped to have a little bit more variety . Though you were initially shocked that he had suggested something like this to begin with, you still jumped at the chance to broaden both your horizons.

Turns out, Dave York was exactly what you both needed.

Notes: One day I'll stop being so unhinged about Dave York, but today is not that day. Enjoy some Suburban Murder Daddy Dave and everyone's favorite Cozy Boyfriend Marcus!

Warnings: 18+ MDNI. Ok, here we go (takes deep breath). F/M/M Threesome. Cuckolding. Voyeurism. Masturbation. Mutual Masturbation. Oral Sex (f an m receiving). Brief (and very light) Anal Play. (Unprotected) P in V sex. Creampie. Breathplay. Degradation Kink. Daddy Kink. Praise Kink. Cockwarming. Spitting (is it even a Dave York fic if he's not spitting in your mouth? Come on). Light spanking (like 2 slaps to your ass). Squirting. Light dom/sub. Dom Dave York. (Occasionally but rarely) Soft Dave York. As always Dave York is his own warning and I cannot stress this enough.

The moment Dave York strolled into your shared bedroom with Marcus, the entire energy of the room had changed, you could feel it. Both you and Marcus, who stood nervously at your side.

“Dave, this is my wife,” Marcus begins, introducing you by name and Dave unabashedly gives you a good long look up and down until his gaze finally settles on your face again. Your cheeks are burning. You can feel them, the heat rising up your neck as you stand there in just a little matching set of a silk cream coloured nighty and panties (Marcus’ favorite) in front of this total stranger to you. Marcus knew him, of course, their government departments had recently been working together for a few months and they’d even gone out for the occasional beer after work.

That’s really where this whole thing had started. Marcus had had one too many one night out with Dave and when he’d watched the way women just seemed to gravitate to him, the way Dave handled it all seamlessly had Marcus mesmerized. A waitress would flirt with Dave and he’d just reach up and grab a handful of their ass and before you knew it they’d be sitting in his lap fiddling with his tie or pulling at his collar while Dave sat mostly uninterested by this point, sipping on his beer and continuing to have a mundane conversation with Marcus as if a twenty-something year old bombshell wasn’t currently in his lap begging for his attention. He wasn’t even nice to them, which was the crazy part. It was all cocky attitude and degrading talk and maybe it was the way Dave carried himself or the way he looked, but these women ate it up and Marcus could barely believe his eyes or his ears. If he ever spoke to a woman like that, not only would his mother turn over in her grave, but he’d surely earn a hard slap across his face for his efforts.

And so that’s when it started. Marcus slowly began opening up to Dave about you. About how he worried sometimes that you weren’t as satisfied with him as you could be. You promised him that wasn’t true, but still, every once and a while you’d try new things with him in bed and he just never felt like he was doing it right. And most times when you did try something new you wouldn’t ask to do it again, which made his insecurity soar even higher that he hadn’t really done what you wanted well the first time you asked.

“So, what does she like then?” Dave asks casually before snapping his fingers at a waitress across the room and signaling to the table for another round.

“Um, what?”

“Your wife, Pike. What, she wants you to slap her around? Fuck her in the ass? Fuck you in the ass, what?” He says it so casually and Marcus has to cover his mouth as he nearly spits his beer across the table at the candidness.

“Jesus York!”

“What?” Dave scoffs. “If you can’t even talk about it with me, how do you expect to do it to her?” He reasoned and Marcus sighed. He did have a point.

“She um, I don’t know, different stuff I guess. Like last time she uh… she put my hand on her throat” Marcus shrugged, a little embarrassed.

“Nice” Dave simply nodded, taking another sip from his beer.

“Nice?!” Marcus’s eyes shot up. “It wasn’t nice, I was so terrified of hurting her the whole time I-” he stopped abruptly and Dave raised one eyebrow.

“You… what?”

“I, you know…” Marcus, looked around the room, anywhere but into Dave’s eyes. “I got um… uninspired” Marcus admitted.

“Christ” Dave rubbed a hand over his face. “Can’t even keep your dick hard fucking your own wife? Should’ve come to me sooner”

“Hey, will you keep it down!” Marcus practically hissed across the table, looking around frantically to ensure nobody was really paying attention to them.

“Let me see her”

“What?” Marcus’s brow raised slightly.

“Let me see her. C’mon you probably have like 1500 pictures of her in your camera roll making the exact same fucking kissy face at you, let me see her” Dave said, holding his hand out for Marcus’s phone.

Marcus rolled his eyes but did as asked, opening up his camera roll to a more recent photo of you that he had taken and passed his phone across the table. Dave let out an appreciative low whistle.

“Damn Pike, I didn’t know you had it in ya. She’s a smokeshow” Dave teased and Marcus quickly snatched the phone back as he saw Dave beginning scrolling through his photos app.

“So… what do I do?” Marcus asked and normally Dave couldn’t give a fuck about anyone but himself but he did feel bad for the guy and not to mention his wife was fucking gorgeous and he wouldn’t mind showing Marcus exactly what to do with you.

“Talk to your wife. See if she’s interested in an interested third party”

“Wait, like you’d… with her?” Marcus stuttered and Dave briefly wondered if Marcus’s eyebrows would get stuck like that if they raised any higher to his hairline

“If you want.” Dave simply shrugged. “You’d be there. You know, the ol’ watch and learn” Dave finished, tossing a wink and Marcus swallowed the hard lump in his throat before chugging the rest of his beer.

That was just two weeks ago, and now here you all are.

“Hey baby, wear this just for me?” Dave said in way of greeting as he sauntered right up to you and took the hem of your thigh-length nighty between the pads of his fingers.

“It’s Marcus’ favorite” you explain with a shy smile.

“Oh, well in that case, take it off” Dave orders, his hand immediately leaving you. Your eyes open wide at his boldness and your gaze darts over quickly to Marcus who’s simply standing by the door with his hands in his pockets just watching the exchange. When your eyes flit back to Dave he’s staring at you with a look on his face that can only be interpreted as ‘don’t make me ask again’.

Despite yourself you already feel a heat stirring low in your belly. You're nervous and yet turned on. Marcus had shown you a picture of Dave so although you did have an idea of what he looked like, his government ID headshot did nothing to prepare you for how handsome he actually was in real life standing right in front of you. His features were sharp; a strong hawk-like nose, a jaw that could cut glass and his eyes were hard but with a glimmer of the softness Marcus’ eyes held in them. They were the same chocolate brown, Dave’s just a little darker and you already found yourself getting lost in them as you stare right into them while you tug your nighty up and over your head, tossing it to a corner of the room.

“Good girl” Dave praises and brings the back of his hand up to let his knuckles drag a line down your front from sternum to belly button with a light ghosting touch that leaves goosebumps in its wake. The shudder that momentarily racks your body doesn’t go unnoticed by either of the men in the room. Dave simply smirks.

“Sit down on the bed, Sweetheart” he tells you next and you quickly obey, sitting down at the end of the bed and Dave takes the few steps to meet you there, towering over you.

“Such a well behaved little slut you have yourself here Pike” Dave tosses over his shoulder at Marcus and you quickly glance over, unsure of how Dave’s remarks will be received but Marcus stays planted in the corner of the room, only this time it doesn’t escape your notice how he quickly reaches down to adjust himself in his pants before stuffing his hand back into his pocket and you feel your shoulders relax instantly, knowing Marcus is enjoying this too. The heat floods back into your abdomen as your nerves settle slightly. Or, as much as they can with the ever intimidating Dave York looming over you.

“Open your mouth” Dave says next, grabbing your face with one hand, his thumb and forefinger holding tight just under the apples of your cheeks. You don’t speak, just slowly open your mouth to him only slightly.

“Wider”

You obey.

“Good girl” he praises again before he tilts his face down and spits right into your mouth. It surprises you and your eyes squeeze shut at the shock of it all but you otherwise don't’ move, waiting for his next instructions. His grip loosens on your jaw and he brushes a knuckle up at the underside of your chin, signaling you to close your mouth and you do.

“Now swallow” he tells you and the gulp that follows from you feels like it's somehow bounced off every wall of the room that’s so quiet you could hear a pin drop. Dave rewards you with a smile.

“She’s so easy Pike, I don’t know what you were scared of” Dave mentions off-handedly, not even bothering to look at Marcus because he can’t seem to take his eyes off yours.

“Sit in the chair”

Confusion crosses your features but you go to stand up before you feel Dave’s warm hand on your shoulder pushing you back down. “Not you”

Oh.

Marcus is as obedient as you are when it comes to Dave it seems, taking the few strides over to the armchair sitting by the window where you like to curl up and read and he sits down immediately, both hands gripping at the arms of the chairs like he needs to hang on for dear life.

Maybe he does.

“You like that? Taking what I give you to swallow?” Dave’s attention is back on you now, hand resuming its grip on your jaw and you can do little more than nod your head.

“Use your words, little mouse”

“I like it” you confess, maybe a little too eagerly and Dave huffs a laugh.

“Yeah, you like having that little fucking mouth full I bet” Dave states as his free hand starts tugging his belt open and opening his dress slacks, pushing them down to his thighs. You stare, wide eyed as your gaze lands on the very impressive bulge straining against black cotton boxer briefs.

No wonder Dave York was so cocky, you muse inwardly.

“Go on, take my cock out” Dave orders and you bring your bottom lip between your teeth and quickly chance a glance over to Marcus.

“Hey, eyes on me” Dave growls as he tightens his hold on your jaw and yanks you back to face him. A little drool dribbles from your mouth the way Dave is holding it open and he quickly swipes at it with his thumb and pushes it inside your mouth and without having to be told you suck it clean.

“Fast learner” Dave hums with a shit eating grin that you suddenly feel the urge to kiss off of him.

“It’s ok baby” you hear Marcus’ voice from across the room. He sounds a little off. His voice is slightly trembling and his breathing is quickened and you know straight away that he’s turned on. You’re glad. You were half afraid that at the first vulgar insult that left Dave’s mouth that Marcus would be throwing him out the door. You were also worried at the back of your mind that Marcus would be wondering what the hell was wrong with you to be turned on by such behaviors but apparently he was starting to see your side of it and it pleased you to no end.

Your shoulders settle again as Dave’s grip leaves your jaw and you slowly reach forward with both hands and tug down his boxers and carefully take his cock and balls out. He’s rock hard in your grasp as your fingers lightly run down the impressive length. Marcus may be a bit longer but Dave is so much thicker you don’t even think you could get your whole hand around it if you tried. You won’t try yet because Dave hasn’t told you to so you simply wait for his next instructions.

“Yeah, that’s my good girl” Dave praises again, his hands now brushing softly through your hair and gathering it up so he can hold it back with one hand.

“Pike, get over here” Dave says and Marcus eases out of the chair and wanders over to you, nervous even on his own legs like a baby deer taking its first steps.

“Spit in my little sluts mouth. Don’t worry, she likes it” he winks at you.

Marcus stops at your side and your heart is beating wildly in your chest. You’re sitting there half naked with two hands idly wrapped around Dave’s cock with his holding your hair back while your husband stands next to you. Marcus eases your nerves though, of course he does, by leaning down and kissing you softly. Your mouth opens to him and you both let out a little moan when your tongues meet and for a brief second it's like nothing else exists in the room but the two of you and surprisingly, Dave allows it. Marcus kisses you until he feels you relax, your heartbeat starting to slow again and then he pulls back just slightly. You stick your tongue out and open your mouth wide for him. Marcus takes a breath and then gently, unlike Dave, spits into your mouth.

“Don’t swallow this time” Dave warns immediately. Marcus takes this as his queue to leave and returns to his chair and your head turns back to look at Dave. Your mouth is still open and tongue sticking out with a glob of Marcus’ saliva waiting on it.

“You’re so good” Dave smiles, bringing his free hand up so his thumb can run along your cheek. “Now don’t let that go to waste” is all the warning you get before Dave’s hand is at the back of your head and pushing you forward until his cock disappears down your throat. The mixture of your and Marcus’ saliva along with the precum already leaking from Dave’s head has you sliding down his length easily, the lewd sounds of your sucking him off filling the room.

“That’s it, fuck” Dave swears, hand gripping your hair a little tighter as he holds your head still and thrusts his hips over and over, fucking into your throat. “Knew you’d love having that little mouth filled up” he laughs before forcing himself in deeper and then holding.

Your face is buried in Dave’s crotch as he holds you still, his dick so far down your throat that there’s tears starting to fall down your cheeks as you choke and gag on him until he finally releases you and you ease off for a few seconds to catch your breath, making sure you continue pumping him with your hand as you do.

“You can do better than that, Sweetheart” Dave tsks. “Come on, suck it like you mean it”

You gladly rise to the challenge, taking him into your mouth again and your head bobs up and down, swallowing down as much of him as you can and your hand making up for whatever your mouth can’t reach. Dave lets out a soft moan from above you and all your focus is concentrated on making him feel good, but your ears do pick up the distinct clinking sound of metal and your eyes shift to your peripheral where you see Marcus opening his belt and scrambling to get his own hand inside his pants. It ignites something in you and you double your efforts with Dave, moaning around his cock as you move your hand down to cup his balls and swallow him harder and take him deeper down your throat until you're choking on his cock again and your eyes are watering.

“Fuck Pike, I didn’t know you married a goddamn whore, Jesus Christ” Dave groans, his breath coming out in short pants. “Taking my cock like a pro”

“Good girl. Mmmm. Good fucking girl” Dave is practically growling at you as you look up at him with tear stained cheeks. His grip in your hair is tight and it only spurs you on to keep going, despite how raw your throat feels. You hollow your cheeks and continue to take as much of him in as you can.

“Oh fuck.”

Its a tiny whisper from across the room, and despite the debauched sounds of your sucking and slurping around Dave’s cock your ears still pick up Marcus’ little whimper.

Your throat needs a breather and so you pull off of Dave but ensure to keep pleasuring him with your hand instead, working him all the way up to the head and back to the base while your other hand continues playing with his balls. You feel them tightening up in your hand and he hisses through his teeth, tossing his head back.

“Fuck, enough, enough” Dave warns, hand coming up to grab yours around his shaft and stilling your movements.

“I’m not near done with you Sweetheart, if you make me cum I’m going to be very upset” he threatens and you simply swallow and nod your head.

“Take off your panties then undress me” he instructs next and you comply, slowly dragging your panties down your legs. You’re about to kick them off to the floor when something else comes to mind and you smirk as you reach for them dangling at your feet and toss them over to Marcus instead. You know they’re soaked and you want him to know it too.

“Fuck baby” You hear Marcus groan and you chance a glance over to him. His cock is fully out in his hand now and to your surprise he takes your wet panties and wraps it around his dick and continues stroking, eyes closing and head falling back in pleasure. Dave looks over to Marcus too and doesn’t seem to mind what he sees, just lets out a little chuckle over how wrecked Marcus is already. You honestly can’t believe that Marcus is freely jerking off right in front of Dave. He normally gets embarrassed even if you accidentally catch him doing it.

“Might be hope for your husband yet” Dave teases, bringing his gaze back to you and tossing you a wink.

You smile brightly, this is exactly what you wanted. You love Marcus with all your heart and you’re not dissatisfied with him or his efforts in the bedroom, but you always hoped to have a little bit more variety . Though you were initially shocked that he had suggested something like this to begin with, you still jumped at the chance to broaden both your horizons.

Turns out, Dave York was exactly what you both needed.

“Fuck” Dave snaps you out of your reverie as he hisses through his teeth and squeezes the base of his cock. His tip is steadily leaking precum, the head looking angry and purple, staving off its impending release. He’s close. Apparently closer than he’d like to be.

“Need to pace myself, this is going to be a marathon, not a sprint” he explains and your eyebrow raises at that, not sure what all exactly Dave has in store for the three of you tonight.

You undress him as he asked, wasting no time at all or bothering to put any flourish on it, you just want him naked with you as quickly as possible, already anticipating what’s to come.

“Come on,” he says, gesturing his head towards the bed. He walks over to the head of the bed and gets in, sitting up with his back straight against the headboard and motions for you to come to him. You get on all fours and crawl up the bed to him and he pulls you into his lap so you’re kneeled with your legs on either side of his, straddling him and to your delighted surprise, he pulls you forward and kisses you.

It’s exploratory at first as your mouth opens to him and his tongue tastes yours for the first time. You moan when you feel the wet muscle tangle with yours and your hands instinctively come up to tug on Dave’s hair, keeping him impossibly close as his kisses get progressively rougher and deeper the longer they go on. He feels so different from Marcus. Dave is clean shaven whereas Marcus has always had a short-trimmed beard since the day you met him. You liked the scratchy feel of when he’d nuzzle at your neck or especially when he’s between your thighs but kissing Dave is like a whole new experience. Your hands leave his hair to hold his smooth face instead and you try to imagine what Marcus would look like without facial hair but you think you prefer him the way he is.

Your husband is hot. But then, Dave wasn’t so bad himself.

You’re kissing for at least several minutes. You’re not sure, you’ve lost track of time and apparently control as you whimper and whine and moan into Dave’s mouth and grind into his lap. At some point his hand makes its way between your legs, fingers gliding through your slick folds and playing with the tiny little bundle of nerves, pinching it between the pads of his fingers and the noises you are making should have you embarrassed but you’re way past that with Dave now. You reach down to him as well, wrapping as much of your hand around him as you can and lazily stroking his length. Dave hums against your lips and then rewards you by shoving two fingers into your wet heat.

A little high pitched squeak escapes you and you jolt slightly in Dave’s lap when his other hand lands on your ass in a smack before he grabs and kneads the soft flesh roughly and suddenly you’re moaning into his mouth again. He continues palming and kneading at the globe of your ass cheek until his hand wanders slightly and your hips jolt again when you feel a single digit pressing up against the tight ring of muscle at your back entrance.

“Our boy ever take care of you back here Sweetheart?” He asks between kisses, slightly prodding at your virgin hole but not quite pushing inside and causing a not unpleasant little wave of pressure to build up in you.

“Mnmm mmm” you shake your head. “I’ve um, yeah, never, before…” you trail off and Dave chuckles.

“Figures” he scoffs. “Well that’ll be a lesson for another day Sweetheart, want you good and ready for that one” he explains and a new flood of arousal comes over you with the subtle promise of a next time. You continue kissing and fondling each other a few more moments longer until he suddenly tears his mouth away from you.

“Look at your husband now Sweetheart” Dave whispers into your ear and you turn your head back to Marcus. His eyes are squeezed shut and he’s huffing short little breaths as he pumps his cock at a brutal pace.

“Think he wants your tight little ass filled up by my fat cock, hm?” Dave continues muttering absolute filth against your ear, knowing full well Marcus can hear him and then seconds later Marcus gasps and is spilling into his own hand, sputtering out a moan from deep in his throat as he milks himself dry. You hear Dave chuckling as his hands leave you and come up to rest on your hips.

“I think we put on a good little show” he emphasizes his point by slapping your ass again and then grabbing a handful of each cheek in both his hands and squeezing before he forces your hips down to grind against his lap once and you choke out a gasp as the head of his cock slides through your soaked core.

“Pike!” Dave suddenly calls, snapping Marcus out of his post-orgasm daze and his eyes shoot open. “Not much of a gentleman, cumming before your wife” he tuts.

“I’m sorry Honey” Marcus pants, still breathless and shyly tucking himself back into his underwear.

“It’s ok Baby, it was hot” you’re sure to tell him. Marcus blushes furiously, looking away from you both as he works on doing his pants back up.

“Come here Sweetheart” Dave begins, turning you in his grasp until you’re facing away from him and then he hunches forward to rest his chin on your shoulder so he can speak into your ear but keep his gaze trained on Marcus.

“Now, you’re gonna sit on my cock and keep it warm for me while your husband makes up for what he’s done” Dave explains, ensuring to speak loud enough for Marcus to hear. “C’mon, up” he begins again, landing a light smack to your hip and you obey, lifting your hips and Dave wraps an arm around you to steady you while his free hand holds his cock still and he lowers you down onto it.

“Ohhhhh fuuuccck” you gasp softly as you sink down on his length. You were more than prepared to take him, thanks to Dave’s fingers working you open earlier but there’s still a considerable stretch around his girth that is bordering between pleasure and pain as his cock splits you wide open.

You’re sitting on his lap with your legs stretched out and lying on top of his, like two bodies simply stacked on top of one another, your legs spread out in a v-shape in front of you. The position is certainly new to you and you’re not exactly sure how it’s supposed to work, how he can fuck into you in this position.

“That’s it” Dave hums against your ear before gently nipping at the lobe and then soothing over it with his tongue. You grind down onto his cock. You can’t help it but you need him to move, you need something, but just as quickly as you begin you feel both his hands grip roughly onto your hips, hard enough to surely leave bruises.

“Don’t move” he growls and then nips harshly at your earlobe, causing you to hiss out in pain for a brief second which quickly turns into a moan when he sucks the lobe gently into his mouth immediately afterwards. “I told you what happens if you make me cum before I want to” he vaguely threatens and you nod your head obediently.

“I’m sorry” you squeak. “It won’t happen again D-Daddy”

You don’t mean for it to slip out, but it does. Another little fantasy of yours, but one that you’d never shared with Marcus nor had the urge to. Marcus was too soft, too sweet. But Dave was rough and mean checked every box when it came to this particular kink of yours.

“Jesus Christ Sweetheart” Dave groans suddenly, he’s back behind you and his forehead comes down to rest in the middle of your back and you feel his cock twitch inside you.

Apparently Dave likes that. You smirk, finally having the upper hand for once.

“You wanna be my good little girl, huh?” Dave finally speaks again after regaining his composure. His voice is rough again and you love it, offering a little nod of your head.

“Say it” he growls, hand coming up to squeeze gently around your throat.

“Wanna be so good for you Daddy” you whine, your eyes flitting across the room to meet with Marcus’ who’s watching intently.

“That’s it” his hand loosens its grip on your throat and caresses over it instead and your head lolls back onto his shoulder.

“You never heard of cockwarming Sweetheart?” he asks and you shake your head again and it earns a little chuckle from Dave. “Well it’s just what it sounds like, baby. You’re gonna sit here and be a nice warm little sleeve for my dick. No fucking, yet. Do you understand?”

You nod weakly. God you just want to move, the pressure is agonizing and you're closing your eyes and breathing through your nose, trying your hardest not to squirm.

“Now you’re gonna be a good girl and cum on my cock” he informs you and you’re a little confused at how he expects you to just cum on command if he won’t let either of you move.

“Pike” he snaps and that gets your attention, your eyes shooting open again. Marcus scrambles to his feet, the authority in Dave’s voice leaving little room for him to do anything else apparently.

“Yes?” Marcus asks, voice trembling slightly as he now stands next to the bed, nervously curling his hands into fists at his sides.

Dave seems completely comfortable naked in his own skin in front of your husband and you’d be lying if you said it wasn’t a total turn on. Of course most of his body was covered by yours, but still, Marcus definitely had a superb view of Dave’s cock buried to the hilt inside your cunt.

“I bet you our good ol’ boy Marcus here is just great at eating your little pussy, isn’t he Sweetheart?” Dave murmurs against the side of your face and you feel that familiar heat rising in your cheeks again as you nod your head.

Marcus was in fact exceptionally skilled in that particular area, and more than happy to do it for you. You’d never been with anybody before who actually loved going down on you. Most guys before Marcus treated it like a chore whereas Marcus thrived on it. He’d stay buried in your cunt for hours if you’d let him. He’d joke sometimes while he was down there, face buried between your thighs that he could live there and you didn’t doubt he would if he could.

It's not until you see Marcus nervously shift in front of you that you realize you hadn’t actually answered Dave out loud.

“Yes!” you reply enthusiastically. “He’s um, very good to me” a little of your shyness returns and Dave tuts from behind you.

“I figured. Looks like a little puppy, just eager to please isn’t he?” Dave chuckles and now it’s Marcus’ face that burns bright crimson.

“Go on then, lick your wife's pussy. Need her to cum good and hard before I fuck her into next Tuesday” Dave says menacingly and a shiver runs down your spine.

Marcus goes to climb on the bed before Dave clicks his tongue and stops him, Marcus freezing in place with one knee on the bed.

“He normally all dressed up when eats you out baby?” Dave asks and you slowly shake your head. It was true, Marcus had an amazing body and was never shy about showing it around you. He preferred both of you to be completely naked whenever you did anything in bed together, including sleeping. Marcus was a very intimate and sensual lover, it was one of the things that made you fall for him in the first place.

“Well, tell him then” Dave nods his head towards Marcus.

“Come here baby,” you say softly and Marcus slowly slides his leg back off the bed and takes a few steps closer until he’s standing next to you and you tug him down by his tie to kiss him once.

“For me baby, please?” You plead up at him and he gently nods his head before he steps back from the bed and begins removing his clothes.

Dave seems to lose interest in the sweet little exchange between the two of you and begins kissing and sucking down the side of your throat while his hands roam your body and come up to squeeze both your tits. You try to keep your eyes on Marcus but all they want to do is close and succumb to the pleasure that Dave is giving you now.

“Ready?” Marcus asks and you focus your attention back on him. He’s fully undressed now, cock soft and hanging delicately between his legs but you know it won’t be long until he gets his second wind. Putting his mouth between your legs is always a surefire way to get him going again in no time, you know this well from experience.

“Please Marcus” you whine. Your cunt is throbbing from being impaled on Dave’s cock and not being able to move and now with Dave making you feel good everywhere else you’re desperate for the attention where it’s needed most.

“I’ve got you Honey” he promises, and you know he does.

He crawls onto the bed again, the mattress dipping under his weight and Dave wordlessly spreads his own legs further apart, forcing yours with them to open up wider for Marcus to fit in between you.

Marcus looks a little unsure of how to begin. Normally he likes to wrap his hands up under your thighs to hold your hips down and bury his face in you but with you sitting on top of Dave that would mean touching the other man and so he hesitates.

“We’re well past shy now Pike, come on” Dave chuckles. “Make her cum on my cock like the good little slut she is” he snides and your cunt clenches at his vulgar remarks.

“Ohhh, she likes that” Dave laughs from behind you. “You better hurry up Pike or she might not even need your mouth, I think mine’s doing just fine”

Apparently that was all the threatening that Marcus needed because suddenly he dives into your pussy like a man starved. His one hand rests on your hip while the other uses his fingers to spread your lips apart and you all but scream when Marcus' mouth latches on to your clit and sucks it into his mouth.

“Oh shit!” you jerk forward involuntarily and then instantly feel Dave’s bruising grip on your waist again, keeping you still.

“Don’t fucking move or I’ll tell him to stop” Dave growls into your ear and you whimper but weakly nod your head in agreement. Your hand comes down to play in Marcus’ hair instead, needing the distraction. You’re clutching the short strands and holding him as close to you as possible since you’re not allowed to chase the pressure of his mouth with your own body and he hums in appreciation as he continues his assault with a skilled, well-practiced tongue.

“Fuck Pike, she is flooding my cock right now” Dave groans and Marcus moans into your cunt as he continues lapping away at you with renewed enthusiasm that he’s bringing you so much pleasure.

Dave’s not lying. You’re absolutely drenching his cock. You feel so full with Dave’s dick buried inside you and with Marcus’ mouth working its magic everywhere else, you are left positively reeling. Your head falls back again and you can do little more than whimper and whine and mewl in Dave’s firm grasp.

“Oh fuck, Oh Marcus, baby” you whine, your whole body trembling and it spurs Marcus on, his tongue working you over even faster, firmer as his his hands start to explore. He moves them to the outside of your thighs and then pushes even further back until they reach Dave’s hips and he squeezes, surprising all three of you as Dave’s cock jolts inside of you briefly and then he stills again.

“Come here” Dave growls, one hand leaving your waist to turn your face towards him and he swallows your moans with his mouth, his other hand wrapping all the way across your waist to keep you still. You're not sure who needs the distraction more, you or Dave, but you keep sloppily kissing each other regardless. Dave’s hips raise just slightly, bringing yours with him and you realize suddenly that Marcus has his hands shoved all the way underneath you both, his large hands squeezing Dave’s ass while his mouth is still buried in your wet heat and now it’s you swallowing down Dave’s moans.

“Baby, I love you so much” you hear Marcus whimper from below you. He’s grinding his hips into the mattress now and you know he’s hard again.

Dave’s hand leaves your face and comes to grip around your throat and your mouth is forced away from his as you fight to keep air in your lungs. His grip is tight but not crushing, like he knows exactly what he’s doing and how much pressure to apply. You assume Marcus likely told him of your little attempt at a foray into this area before that hadn’t worked out the way you hoped.

You know you can still breathe (albeit barely) but all the blood rushes to your head and you almost feel like you could pass out until he releases some pressure again and a blissed out smile stretches across your features as you gasp for breath and another wave of pleasure hits you.

“Good fucking girl, you like that huh?” Dave growls against your kiss-swollen lips before he shoves his tongue back inside to kiss you roughly.

“Oh fuck!” Your mouth tears away from Dave’s as Marcus hits a particular spot on your clit and suddenly something hits you hard and fast and you lurch forward.

Marcus’ hands are back on your legs and then he moves one to spread your lips open again and starts flicking his tongue back and forth hard and fast, his gaze penetrating through yours and suddenly your vision goes white behind your eyes.

“Oh shit, Marcus I think I - oh fuck stop, please, I’m gonna-” you don’t have a chance to finish your thought and suddenly your mouth wrenches open in a silent scream as a flood gate opens, your walls clamp down on Dave like a vice and Marcus is groaning into you, lapping at you with renewed enthusiasm and before you even have half a chance to comprehend what is happening, you feel both of Dave’s arms wrap around your middle as he too lurches forward and his cock begins pulsing, spilling inside of you and he lets out a wrecked moan from behind you.

“Fuck, fuck, fuuuccck” he pants, head coming down to rest on your shoulder as his dick continues throbbing inside of you and painting your walls with his hot spend.

“Baby” Marcus moans into your aching core. “You just fucking squirted” he says before pulling back slightly with a huge grin on his face, the evidence of your earth shattering orgasm dripping down his chin.

“I - what?” It makes sense now, the wave that came over you. You honestly thought you were about to pee in Marcus’ mouth, you’d never felt anything like it before. You always thought that was just some trick done in pornos, never having experienced it yourself before.

Dave lifts you off his cock with a grunt and puts you back to rest in his lap and suddenly Marcus’ mouth is on you again, lapping up yours and Dave’s combined releases from your fluttering hole and Dave is oddly quiet behind you, his head resting against yours and his breathing still coming out in short little huffs as he tries to desperately to slow his racing heart. His spent (and drenched, thanks to you) dick lies just underneath your sex and you don’t fail to notice how every once and a while when Marcus laps at you that his tongue dips a little lower to stroke along Dave’s softening cock. You also don’t miss how Dave’s body jerks a little when it happens and his arms squeeze you a little tighter but he makes no effort to stop or scold Marcus.

“Christ, I told you not to make me cum” Dave says, shaking his head gently against yours but there’s no edge to his voice, he’s far from mad about it.

“I’m sorry Daddy, I didn’t know I could do that” you admit sheepishly, turning your face to him to press a kiss to his lips.

Marcus thankfully slows his efforts between your legs and switches to planting open mouth kisses on the insides of your thighs instead, avoiding your oversensitive sex. His hands are back up on top of your hips now and yours come down to intertwine your fingers with his while continuing to lick and moan into Dave’s mouth.

“I’m sorry Sweetheart, I’m going to need a breather” Dave says after a few more moments pass, pushing back from your mouth. “Pike, keep this pussy occupied for me, I’ll be back for it” he announces before his hand comes down to cup your mound and squeeze.

Dave is lifting you again slightly so he can slide out from under you and Marcus is kneeled at the end of the bed now sitting back on his heels obediently awaiting his next instructions.

“You got a couple more in you, right Sweetheart?” Dave asks as he stands next to the bed now and grips your chin in his hand.

“Mmmmhmm” you nod your head. “Yes”

“Good girl” he smirks. “Now fuck your husband. I’m going to get some water and then I’ll be back and ready for you again” he tells you and then simply saunters out of the room fully nude and not a care in the world. You watch him go and out of the corner of your eye you see Marcus’ head turn too and suddenly you need him more than ever.

“Come here baby” you coo, reaching for Marcus and he turns back to you, takes your hand and lets you pull him to you. He kisses you sweetly, night-and-day to the way Dave did and you hum appreciatively into his mouth as you taste the heady and salty blend of yours and Dave’s combined releases on his tongue. As much as Dave turned you on with his aggressive side there was something in Marcus’ softness that you absolutely craved still.

“Make love to me baby, please” you whisper against his lips and you feel Marcus nod his head.

“Lie down” he instructs and you do, shuffling further down the bed until your back is no longer upright. Marcus leans over you to kiss you languidly for a few more long moments until he finally pulls back and takes his aching hard length in his hand and gives himself a few strokes.

“Ready?” he asks, always checking in, your sweet Marcus.

“Ready” you nod and then he lifts your left leg straight up into the air until your toes are pointed at the ceiling and he pushes himself inside of you, your heat easily swallowing him in with how wet you still were from earlier. The angle he’s at makes him hit impossibly deep inside you and you’re already squirming, needing him to move.

“Holy shit” Marcus looks like his eyes are about to bulge out of his head and he takes a moment to still inside of you once he’s buried to the hilt. “Fuck you’re soaked baby, Jesus. Fuck!”

“You did that to me baby” you praise him with an easy smile as you bring a hand up to push through his golden brown locks. To be fair, you assume it's some kind of combination of your cunt being full of Dave’s cock and Marcus’ skilled tongue stimulating your clit but either way, Marcus got you there.

He wraps one arm around your raised leg to keep himself steady and the other comes down to grip at your hip and he slowly eases himself nearly all the way out and then just as slowly back inside.

“Ohhhhhhh” you whimper at the sensation of his tip bumping against your cervix. “Fuck baby that’s so good. You’re so deep in me”

“Yeah?” Marcus breathes, still taking his time, slowly pushing forward and back with his hips. “God you feel so good honey”

“You want it slow?” He asks and you nod your head frantically.

“Yeah baby, just like that, feels so good, you filling me up”

“Oh fuck” Marcus moans, sliding in and out of your wet heat. Thank God you wanted it slow because he knows he’d be moments away from cumming way too quickly otherwise. He’s not sure he’s ever been so worked up in his lifetime.

He continues to ease in and out of you, slowly picking up pace as you both pant and whimper and moan. Your eyes are locked on to each other, the love pouring out between you with a simple gaze and you’re both so in the moment that neither of you hear Dave come back into the room.

He’s leaning on the door frame, drinking his water and just watching, not interrupting. Marcus’ slim little hips rock back and forth into you and you take every inch of him so well and it's not long before Dave’s own cock begins to swell again between his legs. He reaches down to palm his dick, gently squeezing and stroking as he watches the intimate scene playing out before him.

Marcus is whispering little words of love and adoration for you and your hand comes down on top of his and you interlock your fingers together, giving his hand a little squeeze.

Normally this would bore him. Vanilla bores Dave but yet, watching what transpires between the two of you actually leaves him feeling a little jealous. He hasn’t had somebody he cares for like you two do each other since… well, ever, maybe. Even his ex-wife, it was just as much to keep up appearances as anything else. He’s never looked at anybody the way Marcus looks at you, that much he’s sure of. His hand slows on his cock, suddenly feeling like he’s intruding and he quietly gathers up his clothes and backs out of the room, neither of you even noticing him while he successfully slinks out.

He redresses in the hallway bathroom and heads down to the front door to take his leave but stops to type a quick text into his phone first.

Pike, you’re one lucky man. And that wife of yours loves you, you don’t ever have to worry about that. But if either of you ever feel the need for my services again, you have my number. - York.

An hour later when you and Marcus both lay spent and satisfied and idly wondering where your third partner went, he reaches down to the floor to his discarded pants and fishes his phone out of the pocket and brings it up to read the missed text. He chuckles a little at it and then turns the screen to you and you snuggle up closer to read it and you smile before pressing a kiss into Marcus’ shoulder.

Less than a month passes before Marcus texts Dave back an eager reply, starting up a group text conversation between the three of you, aptly naming the convo “Three’s Not Always a Crowd”.

“So… next playdate, when? 😉”

Next chapter

*clears throat* ahem. so... there you have it folks. Want more of this tasty trio? Lmk!

Tagging @nerdieforpedro, @chronically-ghosted @macabremads @boliv-jenta @prolix-yuy @suzdin

#pedro pascal character fanfiction #dave york fanfiction #marcus pike fanfiction #dave york x reader #marcus pike x reader #pedro pascal cinematic universe #pedro pascal characters #pedro pascal fanfiction #pedro pascal #the equalizer 2 #the mentalist

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buddiebeginz · 5 months ago

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I'm forever baffled by the way B*mmy shippers will double down to defend the fact they think Buck was all about T*mmy in 7x04 when nothing about that episode says that. They will also yell about Tim saying Buck wanted T*mmy's attention in that one article when 1. the actors and Tim have said plenty of things in interviews that have later changed on the show or were just not true or half truths because they couldn't give away where the story was going. 2. If Buddie is happening like I believe it is Tim isn't going to go, yeah Buck was all jealous over Eddie because he's in love with him. Like that's just not going to happen. At the time of that article coming out it was I believe right after 7x04 had aired and B/T was new and that was the focus so of course Tim was going to say that it was about T*mmy. Oliver also said in interviews around that time that Buck didn't realize who he was really jealous over which only really makes sense if we're talking about Eddie.

I literally got into an argument with a B*mmy shipper today because they were trying to tell me Buck thought T*mmy was on the phone (with Eddie). That Buck's weird behavior during the gym scene could be explained away because Buck didn't like that Eddie was talking to T*mmy, that he wanted to be talking to him I guess and because Buck wanted an invite to play basketball with them.

None of that makes any sense though because as we learned Eddie has invited Buck to play basketball with him numerous times so he easily could have just asked Eddie if he wanted to go if it was just about wanting to see T*mmy. But it wasn't because what Buck really wanted was to know that Eddie wanted his attention and wanted him there and to invite him. This is why Buck didn't feel like he could ask Eddie himself. Same reason why Buck didn't ask Eddie if he could go with him and T*mmy to the karaoke bar (the one Eddie mentions when he asks Buck to watch Christopher).

Buck also could have called T*mmy up and asked to go like he called T*mmy up and asked for a tour of the hanger. Or you know if he really was all about T*mmy he could have called and asked to hang out with T*mmy by himself. Like asked T*mmy out for that beer they never got to go get. But the fact is it was never about T*mmy. T*mmy could have been any other guy and Buck still would have been upset with as much attention as Eddie was giving him. The only time Buck seems remotely interested in T*mmy is when he goes to the hanger and even then the minute Eddie shows up T*mmy is all but forgotten. At the end of the episode we see that Buck is attracted to T*mmy but even T*mmy knows Buck has been all about Eddie. There was a reason they had T*mmy say "my attention" to Buck and it will likely come up again when B/T end things.

My main belief that Buck was upset about Eddie spending time with someone else and being so focused on another guy is because of just how big and intense Buck's emotions were. You do not get that upset over a guy you barely know. Like do B*mmy's really want to believe that Buck is that unhinged that he's flipping out left and right because a guy he barely knew at that point isn't giving him enough attention? Do they think Buck is five years old or something?

Also the scene when Buck and Eddie are talking and Eddie says, "It's like you when you meet someone and you just click. You know what I mean?" And Buck says, "I do, I really do," and he looks visibly upset. There is no way that's about T*mmy. For a scene like that to work and have it be about T*mmy we would have had to have seen Buck and T*mmy spending time together and really connecting. Then have Eddie come in and start spending time alone with T*mmy and Buck feel like Eddie was getting in the middle of whatever he and T*mmy shared. Except at that point we hadn't really seen Buck and T*mmy together at all. So the person Buck was upset about then, the person he was thinking of when he said to Eddie, "I do, I really do" was Eddie. He was clearly upset because he felt like he was losing Eddie. Like the special bond he thought him and Eddie shared wasn't as special as he thought if Eddie could replace him so easily.

Oh also if Buck was all about T*mmy in that episode why would it make sense for him to talk about Eddie through the entire thing? To Maddie. To T*mmy. To even talk about Eddie right before T*mmy kissed him and afterwards. Everyone should be able to ship what they want but the way B*mmy shippers try and rewrite canon history of the show to fit their own narrative and on top of that get mad at us for just seeing what's on screen is maddening.

Oh btw if you're interested in anymore of my thoughts on 7x04 and haven't read my giant ramble on that episode yet here's the link:

#buddie #911 buddie #buddie 911 #911 7x04 #911!#buddie s7

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teecupangel · 1 year ago

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I had this unhinged crossover idea, Desmond getting yeeted into left 4 dead. Consider this like a really, really late Halloween thing.

I hadn't thought too much on how things would play out for Desmond but all I know is he fucking hates it, he's thought he hated being the main target for Abstergo? Oh he's gonna hate the undead despite feeling a bit of sympathy for them.

I mean, the green flu appeared to have started slowly before things spiraled out of control continuing to evolve and further spread, and the next thing people knew, their loved ones were dropping like flies only to rise once more and begin just attacking out of nowhere. Heartbreaking to him but now his fight for survival just got worse, there's no innocents anymore, and survivors who were once kind and generous are now willing to kill other survivors just to stay safe and get supplies.

He did find some of the saferoom wall writing hilarious though, if he found a marker he totally adds his two cents in.

Absolutely hates the special infected, avoiding witches? He can manage that unless some idiot startles her, first encounter he had was not fun- he swore his heart stopped for a second hearing the witch screech. And don't get him started on the hunters, they boggle his mind and make him internally rage. Of all special infected, he's 100,000% certain if he drops and all he'd end up a hunter, and that thought terrifies him above all else.

Like, could you imagine that? Hunter!Desmond would be a freaking menace, and unlike other hunters who aren't all that silent due to his training and bleeding effects, his stealth goes above and beyond what the typical hunter is capable of. Nightmare fuel for sure.

Well, this is obviously a very late Halloween thing because I just answered this today XD

I have fond memories of L4D as it was the game me and my friends would play between classes if we were quite bored. I even play Back 4 Blood with my friend a few months back just to get back to that L4D feel (and also because it was one of the few games we both had that we could play together hahahaha).

Out of all the infected, I prefer being the Hunter so there’s definitely some bias when I say that I agree with you that Desmond would definitely be the worst kind of Hunter.

Made for stealth and speed, compounded by his unique genetics that makes him the closest Isu among the humans if we don’t count the Sages.

He wouldn’t just be a Hunter, he’d be a mutated Hunter.

One might even call him the Apex Hunter.

His vision would stay in a heightened state of Eagle Vision, unaffected by flashbangs or any kind of tools that might impede his visions or other senses.

The heightened state of Eagle Vision meant that not even walls can hide his preys and he has… ‘favorites’, one might say.

The Apex Hunter would prioritize hunting and turning specific humans.

Humans that would turn into Hunters as well, joining him with some kind of strange pack-like intuition.

To the humans, it would seem random and they won’t realize it but the Apex Hunter…

He turns those that glowed bright to him.

Those with higher Isu genes that the rest.

And it is those nightmares that plague Desmond’s sleep.

It makes him fear being infected.

Not that it was easy for him to be infected.

He wore a mask to cover his face and lessen the chance of being hit by blood or any kind of body fluids from those he takes down. He goes to the nearest museum and ransacks their historical weapon and armor displays, going for the chainmail and leather armor instead of a full metal armor. It was as light as he could get it while offering the necessary protections as he sometimes has no choice but to get into close combat with them.

He goes for weapons his Bleeds are familiar with, a hunting bow for stealth kills that wouldn’t alert the hordes, a sword with the nearest weight to what he was familiar with, a hunting dagger that he uses more as a utility tool than anything else and an emergency pistol he got from an undead police officer he took down.

He kept his identity a secret. There was no need to tell everyone he was Desmond Miles, not when he’s not sure yet if Abstergo had already been wiped out or if they’re not behind the scenes, protected by the best security money can buy.

He woke up alone, in a room that had enough clues for him to figure out that he was about to be dissected (or vivisected since he wasn’t dead yet).

No clues on where the Assassins were.

If there were even Assassins left.

All he knew was that he woke up and the world had turned into a post zombie apocalypse.

So he continues to travel, focusing on the rooftops to traverse and only making contact with other survivors when it was necessary (or if his kindness gets the better of him).

He does not give a name.

But his existence is whispered regardless.

The White Hood.

A man clad in a white hoodie with a blank mask that covers his entire face.

You know when you see him because…

His white clothes do not have a speck of blood at all.

#i feel like desmond would be trying to find his team #hoping they’re still alive #but not holding his breath at all #if they were dead #he was hoping he could find his apple with their remains #at the very least #it’s morbid yes #but he has seen enough death and the shambling of the undead #to have hope #but to prepare for the worst #assassin's creed #desmond miles #ask and answer #teecup writes/has a plot #fic idea: assassin's creed

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bloopitynoot · 1 month ago

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Reading SVSSS: Bonus Chapter 26

For those who don't know, I am reading SVSSS for the first time and sharing my thoughts!

If you have not read it, there will be spoilers! Consider this a warning.

Also- if you want to follow along, I am aiming to post updates daily. You can find all the posts in the tag bloopitynoot reads SVSSS. You can also check out the intro post for context on my read.

This chapter took me two days to go through! It's SO LONG (120 pages). I wanted to post yesterday but I got 60 pages in and started fading. Winter is here and the sun keeps disappearing too quickly, your boy is feeling the SAD.

The tea photo is from today and not yesterday- I tried out a new one it's almond amaranth and rooibos.

let's get into this monster of a chapter!

Fuck yeah, we have an airplane POV! Though this chapter is BEEFY. I think I'm going to read half today and half tomorrow before posting it (present me: and I did! ^-^).

I love that we are getting all of these forum comments. This is so fun! One of my favourite brands of fics are fics that include elements of social media/forum/blog style au's and this is a vibe! pp140-147

This guy is not wrong "Even though this famous Lord Cucumber spewed criticism constantly and without end in 'Great Master' Airplane's comment section, his subscription payments and demands for updates never waned. Because of this 'Great Master Airplane had come to suspect that this person was a masochist". p148 I mean yeah lol

OMG what an awful way to die! Alone in your house, let's be real - likely in his underwear- via electrocution induced by his sad instant ramen noodle dinner. p149

and the fact that he transmigrated so young. He was there for a while before the plot plotted with SY. 17 years old! p150. I do wonder if there is a wiggly time thing. Like years in the transmigrated novel equal like hours in the world he came from or something. They died close together I think? anyways- any theories on this are welcome!

Same though- Airplane is so real for this. The way in which I would just want to spill all of the foreknowledge and secrets to people I held in my brain as the creator of this universe p153

The SASS [Tip Complete. We wish you the best of luck]. p155

Are you kidding! This man didn't even write the plot that led for his main spy character to becoming a spy...dang man. the potholes are real bad. p156

Okay but this would seriously be me af. I am such a wimp- and that is totally okay! In the face of most definitely death, I would submit myself to being the Little Bitch Boy and pledge myself, my body, my undying love, to my new demon overlord and master. Good for baby him ahaha. p158

"As Shang Qinghua overflowed with snot and tears, clinging on for dear life, begging to pledge fealty to Mobei-Jun - wholly without warning, the demon collapsed." p160 Again, same. I'm feeling seen with Airplane here XD Screaming, crying, throwing up.

Man. I really see how these two end up together (I'm assuming they do?). He had a solid chance to murder the guy and he just couldn't because the character is just his ideal man. p162

"This character had been created entirely to the author's own tastes" p163 MHMMM. Yeah he was.

ehehehe and here we have the only one bed trope at the inn he got to nurse his ideal man back to health. p165

This guy is so shameless. Straight up just watching Mobei-Jun strip while he sits there and snacks. p169

It is so unhinged that this man just has a string tied to his neck pp170-171

that congee- YARF "clear as water" sounds so unappealing p174

"When in doubt- just cry" - Airplane definitely p176

The security on this mountain is so shit. Demons just popping in all the time under the radar. Mobei-jun literally lived there for three days no one even knew XD p183

awww, Airplane tried to warn Liu Qingge about the upcoming Qi deviation. That was nice of him. p190

Yes! Thank you! The scene I have been waiting for; in which the other characters are all like "wtf is up with shen qingqiu? He really is 100% different overnight, but also, no one say anything to him because we like this him better" p192

Fair though, I too would think that SQQ was possessed p194

The way in which airplane is SHAKEN by the actions of SQQ right now is so funny. Him frozen expression, this is NOT the character I wrote what the fuck is happening. p206

Someone commented on an earlier chapter post I had about the theory that the system is the manifestation of airplane's actual wants for the story and like- I stand with this theory. It really checks out with this POV the man keep's fantasizing of a queer man story and like he sure does get it. p207

LOOOOL oh no. the fact that the man who created these characters - VERY different than this experience. Has to listen to Binghe "If you hold unique feelings for a certain person, how can you make them understand you intentions?" p208.

Not airplane giving LBH love advice just so cucumber bro can literally Get Fucked. pp212-213

AND THEN HIS ADVICE BACKFIRES WITH MOBEI-JUN LOL"So, if you want to be liked by a man, the best method is to act pathetic?" p214. Like he set this up for himself

Wait. Airplane had the option to return home! And he just didnt??? p217

Airplane really is weak for these villainous men. The way in which he describes Linguang-Jun is so simpy. p228

The drama. Airplane doing the MOST to save Mobei-jun. This man could have avoided all of this and just gone home. What a horrible torture! :( p235

Get it airplane! You yell at him ahaha p237-238

I AM SCREAMING. Airplane: I'm your daddy! p239 AND THEN him just leaving in a panic because he really thinks he's going to get murdered after that outburst LOL

I love SQQ sitting in domesticity with his man giving airplane love advice pp244-245

Awww, Mobei-Jun came back for his boyfriend! He's going to make him hand pulled noodles :'3 p255 I honestly think that Mobei-jun actually needed to be bossed around this entire time

BYE. LOL SGH deciding to continue writing in this world by basically writing slash fanfiction about LBH/SQQ + the other peak lords/famous cultivators LOL p256. Good for him ahaha.

We did it!

This chapter was such a ride ahaha. it was fun to see the POV for airplane but also him and the progression of his weird AF relationship with Mobei-jun. I honestly kind of love these two. They were such a mess in the beginning but it ended so soft :'3

#bloopitynoot reads svsss #svsss spoilers #mxtx svsss #svsss #scum villans self saving system #scum villain #airplane's POV #I love this guy so much #doing the most to save his demon boyfriend

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arthurtaylorlester · 1 year ago

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i’m going to have to be honest, i don’t think today’s episode was very good.

of course, there were bits i loved as is with every malevolent episode, like jarthur saying each other’s names like that and arthur styling his hair after clark gable and john remembering, john literally acting like trying to kill oscar was nbd :), it was all very endearing.

but man. some of the other stuff threw me off so bad. there were NO STAKES, any sense of urgency created was immediately destroyed by jarthur literally talking their feelings out. one second is literally jumping on walls like a rabid dog, the next he’s calmly communicating with john and then he’s acting superior and calling him a child.

like, we’ve seen what triggers arthur’s erratic behaviour (usually a distinct lack of john) and how he acts when he’s like that, and sorry but just don’t think this was a case of that.

furthermore, arthur calling john was weird. not in the oh no! is john is canonically a child so you cant ship him with anyone because fuck that, that was not the implication, but in the sense that i think it was incredibly ooc of arthur to say that. like, he recognised that yellow was Like That because he was awful to him, not because he was a child. so why is he saying this to john? he says john can’t handle his emotions, which yeah because he can only talk to you which john makes very clear. arthur says its unfair for john to expect that he never speak to anyone again, but that’s not even what john asked. he doesnt want to be ignored and rather be included, which is a totally reasonable thing to ask for! he even says to arthur when he’s going off the rails that he’s used to being ignored by arthur by now and i don’t think this is another manipulation tactic.

seems like both of them forgot the main goal of the show: separating john from arthur without the king taking him back.

the friendship breakup with oscar at the end was ridiculously tacked on and in my opinion shouldve been the beginning of the next episode. but no, obviously that couldn’t have been done since the next episode is the season finale.

which brings me to my next qualm: this is a terrible penultimate episode. penultimate episodes are supposed to raise the stakes higher than theyve been the whole season so the finale is literally unhinged. and malevolent has been excellent at doing that (see: part 27 the roots). But all this episode does is nullify the stakes, we’re not looking forward to anything next episode. John and arthur are in their healing era (there was no divorce this season let’s be real), theyve left oscar, the stone is gone, the butcher is in police custody and daniel is fine.

so how is the season supposed to end with them (presumably) in the dark world? around a year ago, harlan said dark world arc soon. when is soon.

the lack of stakes in s4 has been a persistent problem for me i think, most conflict has been resolved either within the episode or soon after, especially jarthur relationship problems, which are like the core of the show

don’t get me wrong, i’m not saying i dislike s4, i love it, especially the first half, i think part 31 is the best malevolent episode to date. it’s just that with how well written it’s been, i was taken aback by this one just being…. ok?

i think that because every malevolent episode is such a banger, this one kind of being all over the place, especially with arthur’s characterisation, is kinda disappointing? ofc, ik basically all of harlan’s fam and himself were sick during november + they had a whole baby, so i’m hoping the shift in quality was a circumstancial thing.

#masked #malevolent #unhinged aromantics #malevolent podcast #arthur lester #john doe #oscar malevolent

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elysianightsss · 1 year ago

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SoftDark! Slasher!Techno

Prompt: You ask a stranger to pretend to be your boyfriend to get rid of your ex.

Warnings: violence, stalking, unhinged Techno, 6’6 Techno, blood, murder,

You hadn’t wanted to go out, that much was clear to your best friend, Mia, when she had pestered you non stop only to have you brush her off each time with a huff and a ‘no’. Though she was very persistant, it was Halloween, she had whined. This coming from the woman that went out every year for Halloween, you however didn’t, you’d been out a few times for it but the last few years it had just seemed so trivial.

“You know just because you keep nagging me about it doesn’t mean I’m gonna change my mind.” You groaned trying your hardest to keep your temper at neutral.

“Please! I promise I won’t ever ask you to go out with me again!” She pressed, eyes wide with hope, it made you deflate a little. You knew you were giving in.

A pregnant pause sounded throughout the room before you conceded, “fine.” She squealed loudly and began bouncing around the room going on about what costumes to wear, it made you laugh.

About an hour later when she’d finally finished and calmed down you’d pushed her out your cabin, she stood her ground only leaving when you promised to meet her for hot cocoa the next day to discuss costumes and makeup. Only when you agreed did she leave letting you breath a sigh of relief as you watched her walk down the footpath leading into the woods that surrounded your quaint little home.

Living far away from society wasn’t exactly your choice to begin with, and even with many many protests from Mia, the place had begun to grow on you. As did the routine, getting up early, chopping up firewood as best you could, foraging and exploring the woods around your home so much so you had mapped them out.

You were confident you knew these woods better than anyone else.

After Mia had disappeared from your sight you’d closed your door and locked it. A main lock, and several little ones as well as a big wooden plank that slotted on two hooks. Impossible for anyone to break in. You repeated the actions with the backdoor and the windows, only feeling at ease when all of the entrances were locked up tight.

You’d been in this self assigned isolation for so long this was normal now, the feelings of anxiety and fear only leaving when everything was secure. No one would be getting in, especially not your ex. The man you were hiding from. The reason for your isolation. A disgusting being.

He’d put you through so much and when you’d finally escaped he came after you again, never wanting to let you go. He’d marked you in his eyes and he wasn’t going to let what he thought was his just leave. So here you were four years later hiding.

Mia had assured you that the police were doing everything in their power to find him and that it was safe to return to society but you knew better. He was smart, they’d never catch him. You’d live like this for the rest of your life, alone.

It wasn’t all bad, you were able to do pretty much whatever you wanted. With the big inheritance that your now gone family had left you, you had no need for a job. Money wasn’t a worry for you which was good.

You were able to buy food, and enough things to furnish your house in exactly the way you had wanted. You had enough clothes, even though there weren’t a lot of them, you still had everything you needed.

Most days you read or baked just like today, to keep your mind off the darkening sky you focused on your cookies and cakes that were baking away nicely while you stirred the home made jam.

You mind was numb as you watched an old movie on the IPad Mia had gotten you a couple Christmas’s ago. Crawling into bed with the lamp still on, you fell asleep with somewhat ease of knowing your hand was wrapped around the handle of your gun under your pillow. Just in case.

“Oh Nachzehrer where are you?” He hummed with a sing-song tone, thick boots and heavy footsteps pounded on the floor with each step. All he heard was a snort in reply, one that made the corners of his lips twitch with a smile under his mask.

“Shut up!” He spat when the man he carried groaned, “You were so loud and now you insist on making more noise? How selfish can you be?!” He snarled before dropping the man on the floor grimacing as the poor guy let out a scream.

“Nachzehrer! Dinner.”

You’d wrapped up warm today and good thing too as the cold air blew into your face making you snuggle into your red scarf. Looking both ways you crossed the street from the edge of the woods to the start of town, Bludhaven.

Sighing as you wandered through the street passing all the shops, only stopping when you reached The Bludhaven Grill. Stepping inside you scanned the room until your eyes landed on Mia, her bright green eyes flitting over the menu. Her dark purple hair pulled up into a messy bun, she always died her hair for Halloween.

The thought made you remember all the different colours she died her hair, every colour from the rainbow and more. A crazy hair colour for October and then November first she’s back to brown hair like it never happened.

“Hey!” You jumped slightly when Mia shouted your way, you shrunk away from the attention of the other people in the restaurant and made your way over. A quick hug later and you were pulling off your black coat and scarf, hanging them on the back of your seat before pulling off your black leather gloves too.

“I already ordered the coco,” Mia smiled brightly, “want any food?” She asked looking over the menu again.

“No thanks i ate a little while ago.” You replied starting to feel a little jittery, the way you always felt when you left the safety of your home. She nodded and continued to read through the food options.

“Oh how’s your sister by the way? I keep forgetting to ask, any news from her?” Mia asks not looking away from the menu.

“I don’t know actually I haven’t heard from her in a while but I guess you don’t have a lot of time to write when you’re in the military.” You answered, you missed your sister dearly.

“Where was she stationed again?” Mia asked this time her eyes meeting yours.

“France? Or Germany…. You know I’m not too sure actually.“ Mia just nodded deciding to drop it seeing how you began to look sad talking about it.

You shook your head to get rid of the current thoughts, glancing around the restaurant for anything out of the ordinary but you couldn’t see anything and you tried to repeat that over and over again in your head to make you relax. Obviously it didn’t work, you practically jumped out of your skin when the waiter placed your steaming hot coco in front of you.

The man looked at you weird before walking away, “Are you okay?” Mia asked concern lacing her voice, the emotion present on her face too.

“Yeah,” you said almost trying to convince yourself more than her, “yeah I’m a….I’m fine.” She looked unconvinced and made that very apparent by how her face contorted as if to say ‘seriously?’. You were quick to try and change the subject, “What costume did you decide on?”

Thankfully the question was enough to get her off your back, “oh! I decided on slutty witch.” She giggled.

“How original.” You scoffed with a playfulness to it.

“And what are you gonna wear huh?” She crossed her arms in fake annoyance.

“I haven’t particularly thought about it, it’s been quite a while since I’ve been out.” The two of you continued your chit chat and playful banter, concluding that Mia would pick your outfit and you’d just have to wear it. Definitely risky considering Mia’s style was very different than yours but you couldn’t think of a good enough excuse to say no.

Your coco finished, keeping you warm and starting to make you sleepy Mia offered to drive you home to which you accepted. She quickly ran to the bathroom leaving you to sit and think. That was bad, you took deep calming breathes to settle your anxiety. It just got worse, you picked up your coat pulling it on as well as your scarf all in a hurry to make it outside for some fresh air you crashed into someone.

Someone. A wall. A freakin mountain.

You fought every nerve in your body not to gape at the man standing in front of you. His size was astonishing, must be at least 6’6 in height. At least. His face was stoic, never changing even as his eyes darted around your face with pure curiosity. His facial expression never changed.

His hair was longish, coming to a stop at his sharp jawline. His face looked at little rough, but it matched the rest of him. His huge muscles melded with the black t-shirt he wore, you could see how thick his legs were almost begging to burst out of the dark blue jeans he was wearing.

“Sorry I wasn’t looking where I was going.” You apologised, trying your hardest not to stutter under his piercing gaze. All he did was nod, hands moving so they were sat in the front pockets of his jeans.

“Let’s go man.” Another guy who look so similar to him but his hair was longer and tied back in a low bun. He was a little bit taller, but wasn’t as muscular and big. He had a bit of pudge on him as well. Though if you didn’t know any better you’d call them, not twins, but definitely brothers. The man’s accent seemed foreign, French maybe?

Once again the giant nodded following his friend out of the grill, his eyes only leaving your figure when he had to walk out the door. You were frozen in place staring at where he last was.

“Who was that?” You almost screamed at the sound of her voice.

“Jeez Mia!” Placing your hand over your heart in fright, “we need to get you a bell.” You breathed listening to her laugh. Her question forgotten about, though as you walked out of the grill together and made it to her car you did wonder, who was that?

“So where are we going? To a bar? A party? Trick or treating?” You ask as Mia adds the last bit of mascara onto your eyelashes before pulling back admiring her work with a happy nod.

“We’re going to a festival in town. It’s only small but I’m pretty sure the whole town will be there.” She answers but notices the panic that covers your face, “hey, hey it’s okay. Relax. There’s music, a bar, there’s even a fair with apple bobbing and a ring toss. It’ll be fun.” She smiles softly her green eyes sparkling with care.

“That’s not like you. Usually you go to parties.” You said watching in the mirror as she shrugs then goes to tighten your extremely dark green corset, it was almost black. Delicate flower patters in a slightly lighter green graced the corset that sat snug over your creamed coloured blouse. The red skirt you had on reached the floor, covering your black tights and brown laced up riding boots. Little red riding hood, and not the slutty version. You were very pleased with Mia’s choice.

“I didn’t want your first time out in years to be some shitty party. We’ll actually have fun at this. Plus you can leave whenever you want, I’ll even come with you.” You quickly pull Mia into a tight hug one she accepts just a swiftly.

“Thank you.” You mutter so grateful to have Mia in your life. She squeezes you a little tighter, you stay like this for a while until you decide to stop being sappy and go have some fun for the first time in so long.

Mia drove the two of you into town and by the looks of the streets, the festival is already in full swing. The streetlights shining down on all the people dancing and smiling, everyone seemed to be having fun. Mia parked and the two of you made your way through the crowd of scary and slutty, even some funny costumes until you found yourself standing outside some barn.

It had been fully decked out in Halloween decorations and pretty lights. Surrounding the barn was the fair, to the left was a stage, some band rocking out on it with loads of people surrounding it singing along to some song you didn’t know. A slight breeze makes shiver, you pull the red velvet cloak tighter around you for warmth.

“Hey I’m gonna grab us some drinks.” Mia purrs staring the hot bartender down, it makes you laugh as you push her towards the bar inside the barn. There’s so many people inside and out you loose her in the sea of people but for once you don’t freak out. You just admire your surroundings, happy to be out of your cabin, it felt nice.

But all good things come to an end.

“Long time no see sweetie.” David grinned viciously leaving a sickening feeling to swirl around you. “Boy have I been waiting for this moment.” He reaches out for you and you fall back into the crowed to get away from him. Your feet move before your brain can register and you’re so glad as you begin running and screaming.

“Please help!” You screeched as loudly as you could trying to get people to hear you over the booming music. No one did, until you crashed into someone. Again. His face was covered by a mask of some kind, it looked like the skull of a pig, the tusks still intact. Soulless dark eyes glared at you through the eyes holes, but you recognised the giant. You’d never seen anyone as big as him before, there’s no way you’d forget him.

“You.” Your voice held uncertainty and surprise but Techno focused on the fear evident in your eyes, screaming at him. He recognised it so easily. Pulling off his mask to get a better look, although the fear you displayed didn’t bring him the dopamine rush as it usually did.

“Please!” You grab onto his boiler suit outfit so tight and with such desperation that the voices in his head go quiet. “Help me! Please!” You plead eyes burning with the threat of tears, but he nods and instantly you breath a sigh of relief, “my ex is here, he is dangerous and looking for me. Please, I…I,” you scrambled for way he could help, when the idea popped into your head, “pretend to be my boyfriend.”

Techno tilts his head slightly, face unchanged from the first time you’d met, from when you’d just bumped into him. With an uncertainty in his movements he hooks an arm around your waist pulling your body against his hulking form. The air twitches with power, that’s what you felt in the force he tugged you forward. Unbridled power just emanating from him. You felt so tiny staring up at him towering over you, eyes staring into your soul yet face still stoic.

“What the fuck!” The yell is one your familiar with in the worst ways, it makes your body tremble, makes you grip onto Techno’s Michael Myers costume tighter. Techno notices and find himself frowning, finds himself not liking it one. God. Damn. Bit.

The voices in his head begin ranting and raving the second he takes his eyes off you and they land on what he could only describe as a pathetic excuse for a man. But that way you shake against him, he could see how such a man could make a little thing like you cower in fear.

“Get off her!” Your ex, David, growled his shoulders squared ready for a fight even as he glared up at the absolute beast of a man that currently held you in his arms.

“Okay.” Techno agreed. You panicked, your heartbeat rising, breathing picking up. That’s what you get for asking a stranger for help. A panic attack back on the rise you released your grip on Techno’s outfit and began to back away from him. He watched you still a frown on his face, the first bit of emotion you’d seen him display.

That was until he turned to his left, facing your ex who had his eyes on you with a hunger that made you stomach churn in disgust. Techno’s eyes light up as he rolled his shoulders, his arm moving back before he swung it and punched your ex right in the face.

He fell to the floor like a sack of potatoes. Techno glanced at you, his rubies looking you up and down with a flicker of concern? Maybe? Before he leaned down grabbing David’s wrist and dragged him away.

You stood there dumbfounded, what had just happened? And where was he taking him? You didn’t understand, but you were going to. Searching the room you spotted Mia seeing her making out with the hot bartender. She was okay, that gave you the green light to rush out of the barn. The whole world felt like it was swirling and spinning as you looked for a giant dragging a man with him.

There! Your eyes widened as you watched him disappear into the woods, and then the stupid kicked in and you sprinted after them. The further you got into the woods the quicker you started to realise just how idiotic this really was.

You didn’t know this man, he was a stranger and yes he may have saved you but right now he was dragging your ex along the dirt floor like he was nothing. You didn’t like where this was going and you sure as hell didn’t want to see how it ended. Turning around you realised that you were in the middle of nowhere, no festival in sight.

“Shit.” You cursed under your breath turning back to see that the giant and your ex had disappeared too. Now you were alone, lost in the middle of the woods.

“Okay okay you can do this, you know the woods it’s just darker.” You coaxed yourself, you needed to stay calm and collected. Easy right?

“Help!” Wrong. The ear shattering scream of what you thought was your ex sprouted a new level of fear inside of you.

You followed the desperate cries until you saw something out of a horror movie the absolute beast of a man was holding your ex down while he cut him open. It reminded you of when you had to dissect a frog in science, the very same technique.

Your ex cried and screamed for him to stop only for Techno to tut and reply with shut up. The scene before you had your stomach churning, you felt absolutely sickened to your core. Watching the man who had brought you so much pain writhe on the dirty ground, it wasn’t what you thought you’d feel.

Maybe you’d feel justice? Happy? Relieved? No, you felt sick as your eyes followed the way his guts spewed out from his stomach. Holding your hand over your mouth as to not make a sound, you sought strength from the tree a little ahead of you. Stepping forward, all you wanted was to grip onto the tree, all you wanted was some support, instead, a snapping noise emanated around you.

You’d stepped on a twig. You knew it and looking up into the dark dangerous eyes of the giant, he knew it too.

You wondered in that moment where the gentle giant who was kind enough to protect you had disappeared to. He looked hungry and murderous, like killing once had ignited the fire in him. “Run kleines Lamm, this lions hungry.”

“Shit!” You screeched as he advanced towards you, you ran as fast as you could. You left your brain behind and ran, no thoughts entered your head. All you knew was that you had to keep running and ignore the thundering footsteps behind you, it felt like they were shaking the whole forest.

You looked back for a split second and saw him slowing down, it pushed you to move faster knowing the advantage this gave you. You made your body go and when you thought you couldn’t move anymore you kept going. This was quite literally life or death and despite the fact that you were sure you’d be the first to die in any horror movie, you were not dying today.

Glancing back once more was a mistake given that you tripped and landed on your ankle funny, a cut on your knee and both of your hands were grazed. Hearing him closing in on you, you manage to pull yourself behind a tree. The massive trunk kept you out of site while you looked over your leg with a small hiss escaping your mouth.

You quickly covered your mouth with both hands, trying to ignore the blood that was dripping from the cut in your knee, you peeked out from behind the tree to see him stood quite far away, his eyes searching the forest through that pig skull mask of his.

You were, officially, screwed.

“You shouldn’t have followed me kleines Lamm. I don’t want to hurt you.” The words felt fuzzy and wrong coming out of his mouth, “You really should have stayed at the festival.” Shivers racked through your body at his words and the murderous tone he was so desperately trying to soften.

“Oh Nachzehrer where are you?” Techno hummed with a sing-song tone. You heard a snort in reply, and if you thought that the giant’s footsteps were loud, these were booming. Peeking back out you spotted what looked to be a massive warthog, his body three times the size of a regular one. He was vicious, with blood all round his mouth and tusks.

You were so entranced with the warthog, so terrified by its presence that you missed it. You should of been smarter, you should of fought harder. But in the end the bad guy always wins.

“Hello kleines Lamm.” Was the last thing you heard before it all went black.

Your head was pounding, it felt like your brain was trying to claw its was out of your skull. With blurry vision you looked at your surroundings, instantly noticing the gigantic warthog laid in the corner of the room chewing on a bone. You couldn’t react, you were absolutely gone…

Delta India delta, Yankee Oscar uniform, golf echo tango, tango hotel echo, hotel Oscar November echo Yankee Charlie Oscar Mike echo, Romeo echo Charlie India papa echo?

You were so drowsy, so out of it, so delirious it the words you thought you heard made no sense…

“India, hotel alpha victor echo, hotel echo Romeo”

#slasher!techno #squishy’shalloweenparty #squishycheekanon #squishycheekanonanswer #asks are appreciated #beefy!techno #squishtalks

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anonzentimes · 6 months ago

Note

Regarding the opinion that Nagito is a relatable character, I totally agree! He is very contradictory, but that makes him relatable. I think the reason he was looking for something absolute was because he didn't want to get hurt emotionally. I really like the following part of the line he says at Nagito's ending of Island Mode, and it made a strong impression on me:

I thought I would finally be released from the cycle of good and bad luck, but I was clinging to false hope...

(I took this quote from the Danganronpa fandom wiki, so I'm not sure if this is the exact line in the Englsih version).

I didn't pay attention to that line the first time I played the game, and for a while I even forgot he said it. But when I replayed DR2 from the beginning and reached that ending again, I was really surprised because this line reveals his honest feelings quite well. I think that he said things like "luck is an absolute good thing" in the Free Time Events, and even seemed to be proud of his talent, but in reality he felt that his life, being at the mercy of bad luck and good luck, was painful. (Since he says "finally be released".) In other words, you can see here that he has an ordinary mind, at least originally.

He had to think that his life was very happy to protect his heart. In reality, he felt that his life was a mess and not going well. Thinking about that makes me really sad, but that is the line he says just before he asks Hajime to be his friend, and Hajime immediately accepted, so I hope he feels happy to be able to enjoy the ordinary moment of spending time with someone he likes for the first time!

Hi Asaka!!! :D yes that's the exact line in the english translation don't worry!

Nagito is such a complex and wonderful character, he is the result of horrible circumstances and horrible continuous tragedies. He clings onto his coping mechanism to have something to live for, and I think to some degree he's aware his life is quite miserable. He cares about his life but has developed in a way where he doesn't have to think about things like anyone else would, and in turn these coping mechanisms became unhealthy, obsessive, and causes him to act morally gray for the sake of so called hope.

I really do love that line because it really does show he acknowledges there that it is a horrible cycle! Usually he wouldn't come to terms with that exactly. Any time anything bad happens he knows good luck for him will strike again, he knows hope surely will happen soon, so he lives on. When good things happen he's scared of the bad luck ahead but appreciative of the moment, and especially if the good is hope he's thrilled because it's what he lives for at that point.

I think he hates his talent and doesn't see it as worth anything because it has killed everyone he's ever loved, but I also think at points he takes pride in it since it's the main thing he can say he has. He thinks he's worthless, but at least he's the ultimate lucky student, right? I think he believes that If he doesn't even live up to his awful talent then he's even more worthless than before. He truly can believe in his luck as the only thing occasionally valuable about himself, but even then he thinks it isn't that good.

He's good at hiding his emotions for the most part when they aren't so extreme, and he has become partially emotionally numb to some extreme situations. But what I love is that, you still can tell when you analyze him enough how he thinks and feels. He's an honest person and even when he lies his emotions shine through if big enough or something usually spills out. One of the examples I spotted today when replaying and loved is when he starts to get really nervous after lying to Hajime so much when investigating.

I think Nagito Komaeda is so relatable because he just feels so human, if that makes sense. His depth is really well done, the world and his coping mechanisms are unhinged but he himself emotionally feels real. We see him use coping mechanisms, have love languages, fear dying alone, be emotionally contradictory, go through struggles and trauma, see the impacts of said trauma, see him have complex beliefs, see him having an honest kindhearted personality, have good intentions while doing the wrong thing, have self esteem issues, have tonal issues, he is just so well written that I could list things that contribute to his depth forever. There is so much that makes him feel human, a lot of it is apart of the universal human experience, while other things are a lot more specific since it's fantasy. The thought of Nagito recovering, being able to finally live the ordinary life he's always wanted after everything, being loved, and not dying alone makes me so happy.

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estro-gem · 1 year ago

Text

Zooble x Gangle: Wind beneath Wings

The Amazing Digital Circus AU: Oasis

Author's note:

I want more content about these two! This is mostly fluffy Gangle-centric shenanigans, but I have a nice little Zooble-centric fic planned next.

For now, it's just our lil' bean being a lil' bean.

And also being a lil' minx. I want Gangle unhinged and set loose.

I want it so bad!

Warnings: Eh... nothing really worth calling out...

Awkward comments that may or may not count as flirting? Objectifying.

Misunderstandings.

Non-cis couple struggles/panic.

Nothing really triggering, I think (I hope).

SUMMARY:

Gangle and Zooble hangs out in the main room, the day after Pomni's arrival. The situation ends up with Gangle awkwardly trying to comfort the jester.

Things get worse as Pomni oversteps her boundaries, chasing Gangle back into Zooble's arms for comfort. Fluff and gossip ensues. That's about it.

Oh, Jax and Ragatha is there too!

All characters belong to Gooseworx.

WIND BENEATH WINGS

“Oi… newbie is NOT doing ok…”

Zooble’s words were mumbled to themself more than to their partner, who was currently wrapped and twisted around their torso and arms. Gangle’s comedy mask was dangling over their right shoulder, hanging upside down. Looked like Gangle was in a goofy mood today, if not strangely more clingy than usual. The Zolo-being couldn’t help but wonder if the new arrival from the day before had their partner feeling particularly protective. The thought alone left Zooble with a rush of fuzzy heat.

It's not like Zooble’s face gave anything away.

Pomni had just crept into the main area of the tent, fidgeting her hands together by tugging at the gloves fitted around their fingers. She didn’t notice them lounging idly on the colourful props that was collectively shoved to the side. Zooble figured that the only reason why they weren’t spotted yet, was because their body seamlessly blended in with the surroundings – even Gangle looked like a discarded Christmas decoration draped around them.

“You’re telling me things I already know, Zooble.” She dismissed, only swinging her head from side to side as she spoke with a hushed voice, “I noticed.”

“You always do, Smiley.” Zooble also replied in a soft tone to mirror her partner.

“Yes, I do.”

When did Gangle become so smug? She’d give Jax a run for his money if she kept it up…

Although it was not uncommon for the couple to break character when alone, there was something about Gangle’s mannerisms that had Zooble concerned. She was fixated on Pomni’s uncertain movements despite the light sway of her head. Every time Pomni would sweep to layout of the area with their eyes, the ribbonoid would tense up for the second that the jester’s eyes fall over their position, only to just miss them.

It wasn’t until Gangle snickered when Zooble realized that she wasn’t unnerved, but rather anticipating.

Waiting.

The sentient Zolo-sculpture huffed in amusement, “You hunting, little owl?”

“I can’t help but feel the unbearable urge to mess with her.” Gangle spoke almost numbly.

“Oh? Isn’t that Jax’s job?” Zooble quipped amused, “You have me believe that he has a bad influence on you.”

“Oh hush! I know you feel it too…” Gangle laughed, “You probably want to get back at everything that happened to you when you were still new here.”

“Nah, don’t care much for it anymore” they sighed. They couldn’t care enough about ruining someone else’s day while they had to focus on getting through their own.

Just drifting along peacefully, with their beloved Gangle.

Gangle stopped swinging her upside-down head, to stiffen her neck into looking at the triangular-faced abomination she cared for so dearly. Zooble’s heart almost jumped out of their chest when they felt the ribbons faintly constrict around their body, just to fall slack within the next moment.

“What if I care for it?” Gangle asked innocently. Her feral smile was not so innocent.

“Ay, ay!” Zooble mocked a stern tone, “Don’t go rogue now, you need to be nice-and-quiet-little-Gangle. What are you trying to be? A barer of chaos or something?”

“It’s so…” Gangle, once again distracted by Pomni’s shaking form, turned her head to fixate on the little jester again, “…tempting.”

“Oh, so I’m not tempting enough anymore, huh?” Zooble teasingly asked. Gangle wouldn’t stop eyeing Pomni, testing Zooble’s patience more than they were willing to admit.

“Hmmm…” Gangle mused, apparently in deep thought, “I think I prefer my meat a bit… fresher.”

That did it.

“That’s not what you said last night, YOU LITTLE #$@%&!!!” Zooble bellowed, digging their digits into the ribbons wrapped around their torso.

Gangle couldn’t stifle the abrupt squealing laughter that broke from her mouth. She spasmed as she desperately tried to break free from the Zolo-being, but to no avail. Her blasted ribbons got tangled and she didn’t possess the coordination to unravel herself when Zooble was responsible for her spasmic jerking. Her partner could be relentless when it came to tickle-fights.

She always lost.

“OkAY! Okay! Uncle! UNCLE!” Gangle practically screamed between her hysterics. It was music the Zooble’s ears, so they had no intent to stop just yet.

“Uncle? Who’s she? Don’t know her.” Despite Zooble’s enthusiastic motions, their voice appeared bored and uninterested.

“ZOOB, I can’t breATHE!”

“That’s ok, we can’t die here anyway…”

CRASH

In a flash, Zooble stopped and jumped at least 5 feet away from the source of the noise that interrupted their antics. Gangle was tightly wrapped around them, so to shield her, they grabbed her mask and nearly crushed it against their torso.

Their eyes land on Pomni, now alarmingly close, with a broken flowerpot at their feet and frazzled look on her face that never seemed to go away – it just varied in intensity. Gangle squirmed for Zooble to release her mask so she could turn her face to see, but the Zolo-being didn’t budge until the initial shock was gone and their mood was killed.

No fun today, it seemed.

“Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry!” Pomni frantically apologized, “I wasn’t looking where I was going, and I knocked into this block, and it knocked over-”

“Yeah, whatever, don’t care.” Zooble dismissed, rolling their eyes, “It pays to have situational awareness, by the way.”

“I didn’t mean to interrupt!”

“Well, you did. Deal with it and move on.”

“But I-”

“Shut it and move on, jester!” Zooble cut Poni off, cringing uncomfortably as they turned on their heels and took long strides to walk away. They don’t let Gangle, now unraveling herself off them, slow them in the slightest. Zooble sauntered their way over to Jax, who just walked out into the main area himself, seemingly amused by whatever expression the Zolo-creature sported. Gangle only glanced back to her partner before turning around – her eyes now fixed on Pomni, suddenly wearing her tragedy mask.

When did she switch out her masks?

“They meant it literally, Pomni.” Gangle suddenly piped up with a gentle, but now raspy tone, “They accepted your apology and gave you good advice; around here, it’s best not to dwell on things. It will make you abstract faster.”

Pomni’s frown was replaced by a perplexed expression upon hearing the ribbonoid’s explanation.

“They looked so… bothered.” Pomni eyed the tears on Gangle’s face, “And you look miserable. You were laughing just now.”

“They are bothered, but not exactly by you, don’t worry.” Gangle didn’t bother trying to muster up a sad smile – it was too much effort for someone she didn’t trust yet, “I figured a happy face is the last thing you would want to be comforted by.”

“Actually, for a second, it made things seem more… normal?” Pomni chuckled awkwardly, stepping closer. “You actually have a cute laugh – I wouldn’t mind hearing it again some time.”

“Zooble loves my laugh too, they just won’t admit it – so don’t tell anyone!”

Pomni laughed a bit. Gangle was bombarded with the feeling of 2 mismatched eyes burning into her back, but didn’t turn to look just yet. That would give her partner mixed signals…

“Yeah, I’m not surprised!” Pomni took another step forward, tugging at her hair strand that was framing her face, “It’s a shame to see you cry, though… you’re smile lights up the room…”

This was getting interesting, in an uncomfortable way.

As soon as Pomni took a step forward, Gangle took a step back. Too close. The jester was getting just a little too close and saying things that were just a little too comfortable. She couldn’t tell what Pomni’s intentions were – just that she was new, scared and desperate for support – which was expected! But just how desperate Pomni was, was yet to be determined.

Despite the prior fantasies of Gangle toying with Pomni, that was all they were. Fantasies. It was never something that Gangle would ever act upon. She was a firm believer in the roles they each had – and judging by how quickly Zooble jumped back into character upon Pomni’s arrival, she was very sure that they shared the sentiment. When the couple was alone, they could be whatever they wanted and where-ever they wanted. Gangle had the knack of taking Zooble far away from the Circus, into their own little fantasies, flying above the clouds while riding on their wind.

Zooble was the turbulent to bring Gangle back down to the desert ground, before Gangle’s wings burnt out. The Zolo-being was very dynamic in her role; capable of passing by as a gentle breeze or lifting the earth to create a sandstorm to pin everyone down. They kept them grounded by living and acting in the moment.

The wind – careless, free and ever-present – never bothered by the matters of anyone else, moving as it pleases despite anyone who may enjoy or dread it. It hits you with heat and sand, biting at your skin to remind everyone that they are still trapped in the desert and that it’s best to find shelter within the hellscape of dunes – pushing those who stray away back – back to the oasis.

The wind always blew towards the oasis. The burrowing owl was happy to fly with it, back to her burrow, where it’s safest.

But as Pomni pushes back into Gangle’s space, despite her gentle prompts, Gangle did not feel so safe anymore.

“Zooble a great partner, we have a good thing going.” Gangle said almost abruptly, “Their rough around the edges, but also just easily misunderstood.”

“Partners, huh…? You two have a circus act together or something?” Pomni asked, genuinely intrigued, her voice shifting into an unknown tone, “I can only imagine what you are capable of! Your body is so weird…”

Gangle internally cringed at the unfortunate misunderstanding, wishing for a way out of the conversation. The whole interaction was draining her in a way that she wasn’t quite used to – having grown close to only a handful of characters over the course of their long stay together.

She didn’t like being ogled at like a zoo animal.

“We all do acts together, depending on what Caine has in store for us.” Gangle said, decisively looking back to Zooble, who was now choking Jax while he clawed at their arm. It was only a moment until Zooble and Jax noticed her gaze, causing them to share a swift glace with each other in their frozen positions, before Zooble loudly called out.

“Hey Gangle, help me kill this guy real quick?” Zooble refused to let Jax go, who managed to choke out something along the lines of ‘save me’.

Gangle’s hero in shining armer.

Gangle glanced at Pomni, “I’ll stop them from doing anything reckless.” She walked towards her friends in a hurry, “I’ll see you around!”

She didn’t wait for Pomni to answer.

When Gangle made it over to her partner and her friend, Zooble dropped Jax to flop onto the floor, almost limp with how he was previously robbed of air.

“All good?” Zooble asked, looking over the ribbonoid.

“Just peachy!” came Jax’s hoarse voice from below, “Thanks for asking!”

The abomination responded in kind by kicking the bunny in the side, who heaved and coughed dramatically. Zooble only rolled their eyes and waited for her partner to answer. Instead of a verbal answer, Gangle responded by lifting her arms towards her partner and waited patiently.

“Gangle wants uppies?” Zooble jested, but swiftly moved to hoist her up, allowing Gangle to wrap and twist her ribbons around her significant other’s torso in no time. It was easy for Zooble to endure. If the masked ribbon didn’t know and better, she wouldn’t have seen the look of mild concern briefly flash over Jax’s face before he dramatically gagged to express his disapproval of the couple’s PDA.

This is what she was comfortable with. This was her people – her home. She could be herself here. Not with some outsider.

Gangle giggle, “As if you and Raggs don’t suck each other’s faces off.”

Jax scrunched his face in disgust, “That’s disgusting… we don’t do that, by the way! I’m not even sweet on her. We’re not even friends.”

“Yeah, you’re right, you definitely aren’t friends.” Zooble piped in, before winking at Jax. They all knew about Jax’s boundaries about touching. They all knew about the deal between the bunny and the ragdoll, even when said bunny and ragdoll didn’t know themselves. Although Jax didn’t seem to pay Zooble’s quiet reassurance any mind, he was noticeably more at ease when he stood up again.

Damn bunny and his micro-expressions.

Zooble diverted their attention back to Gangle upon feeling her cling tighter than usual, “Did something happen?”

“Just hold onto me.” Gangle sighed, gaining the concern of the two surrounding her. No one expressed it, though. Their faces were trained and fixed as they usually were – Jax and his lazy grin, along with Zooble’s careless neutralism.

“What did she do to you?” the Zolo-creature asked casually, effectively hiding how their blood was starting to boil.

“Nothing!” Gangle whined, before whispering something that also resebled a whimper, “…Boundaries.”

“Pushing boundaries?” Zooble asked, quirking an eyebrow as their voice dropped down to its depths.

Gangle only looked ahead, catching the eyes of Jax, who was very intrigued by Gangle’s current state. The eye contact was unintentional, but it was enough for Jax to read something that spawned a sinister smile that could rattle anyone with how icy it appeared.

Spasmic, he abruptly turned his head to directly stare down the jester from across the room.

The snake was hungry again.

“You guys are disgusting. I’m leaving.” Jax exclaimed, stomping off, “Pomni!? Where are ya? I need your stupidity to reset my brain from seeing these lovebirds swapping spit!”

As always, Jax seemed to hit the nail where it hurt the most – for Pomni in this case. There was no way she could misunderstand the relationship between Gangle and Zooble now. When Gangle saw the shock and dread on the little jester’s face, whether it was due to Jax making his way over to her, or if it was due to realizing that Gangle had a significant other, the ribbonoid physically deflated with relief.

Zooble noticed.

“I’ll ask again, what did she do to you – exactly?”

“Probably not something really worth sending her into Jax’s coils, but at the time, she just made me uncomfortable.” Gangle said, sounding too ashamed for Zooble’s liking.

“Yeah? How? Spit it out.”

“She just… I don’t know, maybe I read too much into it?”

“Gangle.” Zooble took her face in hand to force the masked ribbon to face her. “Spit. It. Out.”

“She seemed flirty at the time!” Gangle babbled out upon request, “Pushy even. She didn’t understand that we… you know…?”

“That you are mine?” So straightforward, as Zooble always were, but it earned a nod from the tear-streaked girl, now a blushing mess.

The abomination huffed, clearly disapproving of the jester’s antics. They were so annoyed when Jax teased them about her ‘smooching up to Gangle,’ but they never thought that there was a hidden truth to the bunny’s words. Maybe they could get him to cough it out by choking it out of him harder next time. Still, the jester had no business making Gangle feel threatened in any way – Zooble’s blood had reason to boil after all.

Zooble wouldn’t show it, though. They calmed themselves with the fact that her girl came running into her arms as soon as she could.

Such a good little minx!

“Mmmkay, I get why Jax hates her now.” Zooble mused as they slowly started to walk to a more secluded area, “I think I’ll hop onto the hate-train too.”

“Don’t bother, she still new.” Gangle whined, not wanting to start or deal with any unnecessary drama, “She’ll learn as time goes by – I was just sensitive. It happens when I have my tragedy mask on-”

“I’m not having this.” Zooble cut in, “You are human, and you have boundaries. She needs to respect that – new or not… And until she learns that; my arms are always open. Anytime. Anywhere. Understood?”

Gangle’s heart wanted to burst, evident by the fresh flow of tears flowing down her face. She nodded, earning a small Zooble-version of a smile as they nuzzle their forehead against Gangle. They couldn’t kiss, but this was as close as they could get it and Gangle wouldn’t want it any other way.

“Now that that’s dealt with, I’d like to watch Pomni get her @$$ kicked by Jax.” Zooble said as they watched Gangle swap out her masks to smile up at them again, “Did you know that he basically hates her?”

Zooble currently lounged near the table, with Gangle wrapped around them, as she should.

“I didn’t know it ran that deep.” Gangle said, squeezing Zooble for a view seconds, watching and giggling as their face darkened with a blush, “I heard that Pomni left Raggs for dead with Kaufmo when he abstracted, so I guess I should’ve figured that one out by now. Oops, I guess.”

“Well, I heard that she shoved Raggs into Kaufmo to save herself.”

Gangle gasped, “No!”

“Yes! Jax didn’t say that specifically, but you know him. You can never get a straight word out of him.”

The couple’s attention got dragged back to Jax, who was currently dangling Pomni in the air by the two pom-poms of her hat, holding her up to flash her his most animalistic, predatory smile Zooble had seen him give. Pomni was curled into herself as best she could, eyes wild with dread.

“I bet he’s going to lose it and bite her head off.” Gangle challenged, earning a chuckle from her partner.

“Nah, I bet he’s gonna punt her across the room.”

Gangle huffed, “Not with those skinny legs.”

Zooble shot her with an incredulous look, “He’s a giant rabbit, have you ever even seen rabbit legs?”

“No, but apparently you saw his legs…?” the ribbonoid jested with a feral grin of her own, “Is there something I should know? Do you swing to both sides of the fence?”

“Don’t start with me, you little-”

“JAX, YOU PUT HER DOWN RIGHT NOW!” they got cut off by the hysterical cry of their beloved ragdoll, jumping into her roll again. While it was good to see her up and about after nearly dying the previous day, they collectively deflated upon the realization that they would not see the who would’ve won their little bet.

Well, there could always be a next time.

And there would, no doubt, be a next time.

For now, the couple was happy to just watch a bunny melt into a puddle at the sight of a ragdoll – something they had trained to spot after years of exposure to Jax’s micro-expressions. The sucker was in so deep for Ragatha, they couldn’t help but silently cheer them on. It was almost too bad that those two kept their affection for each other so silent. It was as if everyone knew that they were a couple, except the two that the couple consisted of.

It was almost tragic…

But it made up for everything by providing one hell of a show.

Some silly fanart/sketches of this fic: (CLICK HERE TO SEE)

Oasis: TADC AU list

Masterlist

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